Veteran Awami League leader and former commerce minister Tofail Ahmed passed away in Dhaka this afternoon. He was 82.
Square Hospital authority said in a press release -- signed by Dr Raihan Rabbani and Dr Md Towhiduzzaman -- that Tofail Ahmed had been suffering from multiple age-related complications.
It added that on September 24, at approximately 4pm, he was admitted to Square Hospital due to pneumonia-related respiratory distress, heart disease and physical weakness. He was being treated under the intensive care of ICU Senior Consultant Dr Raihan. Despite the dedicated efforts of the medical team, Tofail breathed his last today at 3:30pm, the press release said.
His namaz-e-janaza will be held after Maghrib prayers at Taqwa Mosque in Dhaka's Dhanmondi. After that, the body will be kept at the mortuary of Square Hospital. Tomorrow, the body will be taken to Bhola either by helicopter or in a refrigerated ambulance. After Zuhr prayers tomorrow, another janaza will be held there, followed by burial at the family graveyard.
From the fiery frontlines of student rebellion to the quiet dignity of giving away all he owned, Tofail Ahmed’s journey is far more than a record of positions held or speeches delivered.
He stared down the might of Pakistani military dictators, helped forge the Bangalee nationalist movement for autonomy and identity struggle that culminated in the Liberation War of 1971.
He walked shoulder to shoulder with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and fought relentlessly for democracy throughout a political career spanning over six decades.
Tofail Ahmed was elected to parliament in 1970 at the age of just 27. He was a prominent organiser of the Liberation War and one of the key leaders of the Bangladesh Liberation Front, widely known as the Mujib Bahini.
In independent Bangladesh, he went on to serve as a member of parliament for eight terms. He was appointed political secretary to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, holding the rank of state minister. Over the years, he served in the cabinet three times and chaired a parliamentary standing committee, earning recognition as one of the most seasoned voices in and outside the parliament.
He was an advisory council member of Awami League, whose activities remain banned.
Tofail Ahmed was born on October 22, 1943 in Koralia village of Bhola.
He was actively involved in student politics from his college days -- elected sports secretary of the Brojomohun College Students’ Union and Vice President of Ashwini Kumar Hall in 1962.
During his years at Dhaka University, he served as sports secretary of Iqbal Hall (now Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall) in 1964, vice president of the Soil Science Department in 1965, and vice president of Iqbal Hall Students’ Union in 1966-67.
From 1967 to 1969, he was the vice president of Dhaka University Central Students' Union and also one of the leaders of the All-Party Student Action Committee. He played a key role in the mass uprising of 1969 against Pakistani ruler Ayub Khan. Tofail, on behalf of a rally, addressed Awami League leader Shiekh Mujibur Rahman as “Bangabandhu” in February 1969.
In 1969, he was elected president of the Bangladesh Chhatra League. The next year, he joined Awami League.
In the historic 1970 elections, at just 27 years old, he was elected to the Pakistan National Assembly from the Daulatkhan-Tajumuddin-Monpura constituency of Bhola.
Tofail was one of the key organisers of the Liberation War and one of the four regional commanders of the Mujib Bahini. He actively participated in the Constituent Assembly of 1971 and in the drafting of the Constitution adopted in 1972.
He performed duties as Bangabandhu’s political secretary with the rank of a state minister from 1972 to 1975.
In 1973, he was elected to parliament. He also won as MP in 1986, 1991, 1996, 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2024 national polls
After the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975, Tofail Ahmed was arrested in September and spent 33 months in prison. He was also imprisoned at least seven more times for political reasons. Tofail played a vital role in the movement to restore democracy in Bangladesh. He was imprisoned four times during the Ershad regime and again during the 1995 movement for elections under a caretaker government. He was also jailed in 2002.
While detained in Kushtia Jail in 1979, he was elected organising secretary of the Awami League. He later became the party’s presidium member and advisory council member
After the 1996 election, which brought the Awami League back to power after 21 years, he was appointed minister of industries and commerce.
During the 2007 emergency rule, Tofail Ahmed was among a small group of senior leaders who proposed reforming the Awami League.
Following the 2008 general election, although the Awami League returned to power, political analysts believe that Tofail was excluded from the cabinet and dropped from the party’s Presidium due to his stance during the caretaker government period.
From 2009 to 2013, he served as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of industries.
He also served as housing and public works and industries minister in 2013-2014 and minister of commerce from 2014 to 2019.
In 2021, Tofail Ahmed announced that he will donate all his movable and immovable property to Tofail Ahmed Foundation that works to provide the underprivileged with hospital, old home, and stipend facilities.
He suffered a stroke a few years ago, which left the left side of his body paralysed and necessitated the use of a wheelchair.
Tofail left behind a daughter, son-in-law, and host of relatives and well-wisher to mourn his death.
