Veteran Awami League leader and Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam was laid to eternal rest at Banani Graveyard in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, three days after he breathed his last at the age of 68 on Thursday.
Body of Syed Ashraf, also AL Presidium member and former general secretary, arrived on the graveyard premises at 4:35 pm from Mymensingh where his third namaz-e-janaza was held at Anjuman Eidgah ground after Johr prayers, reports BSS.
People of all walks of life, including political leaders and activists, gathered on the graveyard premises to have last glimpse of their beloved leader.
The first namaz-e-janaza was held at the South Plaza of the parliament complex on Sunday morning.
After the funeral prayer, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths on his coffin, which was draped with the national flag and the Awami League’s party flag.
The freedom fighter was also given a “guard of honour” on behalf of the Dhaka district administration.
In addition to top political leaders, people from all walks of life crowded the South Plaza of the parliament building to pay their final respects.
Hundreds of thousands of people crowded the South Plaza to take part in the funeral prayers for Syed Ashraf. People were also standing on the stairs and in the streets. Law enforcers were having difficulty keeping people away.
The second namaz-e-janaza was held at Sholakia Eidagah in Kishoreganj and the third funeral prayer was held at Anjuman Eidgah in Mymensingh.
Later, the mortal remains of Syed Ashraf were flown to Banani graveyard from Mymensingh this afternoon.
Syed Ashraf, who had fought a lengthy battle with lung cancer, breathed his last at the Bumrungrad Hospital in Thailand at the age of 67 on Thursday night.
Syed Ashraf, the son of Syed Nazrul Islam, one of the four national leaders killed in jail in 1975, left for the United Kingdom shortly after his father’s assassination.
He became a member of parliament from Kishoreganj-1 as the Awami League candidate in 1996 after returning home. He was also re-elected in 2001, 2008 and 2014.
