Former minister Tofail Ahmed no more

Veteran politician, freedom fighter and one of the key organizers of the 1969 Mass Uprising and the Liberation War, Tofail Ahmed, passed away at 82 while undergoing treatment at a hospital in the capital on Monday afternoon.

Tofail Ahmed breathed his last at around 3:30 pm at Square Hospital in Dhaka, family sources confirmed.

His son-in-law, Dr. Touhiduzzaman Tuhin, told reporters that the veteran Awami League leader died while receiving treatment at the hospital.

Family members and close associates said Tofail Ahmed had been suffering from various age-related health complications for a long time. He is survived by his daughter and a host of relatives, admirers and well-wishers.

In a press release, the hospital authorities said he had been admitted on September 24 with pneumonia-related respiratory complications, heart disease and physical weakness.

Born on October 22, 1943, in Koralia village under South Dighaldi Union of Bhola Sadar upazila, Tofail Ahmed emerged as a prominent student leader during the 1960s. He served as Vice-President of the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) from 1967 to 1969 and gained nationwide recognition for his leading role in the historic Mass Uprising of 1969.

In the 1970 general election, he was elected a member of Pakistan's National Assembly at the age of 27. Throughout his political career, he was elected to Parliament nine times and served in ministerial positions on several occasions.

Tofail Ahmed was also a member of the advisory council of the Awami League and remained an influential figure in Bangladesh's political landscape for decades.