Abdul Matin Khasru | |
---|---|
আবদুল মতিন খসরু | |
Minister of Law and Justice | |
In office 14 January 1997 – 15 July 2001 | |
Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
Preceded by | Mirza Ghulam Hafiz |
Succeeded by | Moudud Ahmed |
Member of Parliament for Comilla-5 | |
In office 5 March 1991 – 24 November 1995 | |
Preceded by | Mohammad Yunus |
In office 14 July 1996 – 13 July 2001 | |
Preceded by | Mujibur Rahman |
In office 25 January 2009 – 14 April 2021 | |
Preceded by | Mohammad Yunus |
Succeeded by | Abul Hashim Khan |
Personal details | |
Born | Comilla District, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan | 12 February 1950
Died | 14 April 2021 Dhaka, Bangladesh | (aged 71)
Nationality | Bangladeshi |
Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
Alma mater | Comilla Victoria Government College |
Occupation | Lawyer, Politician |
Abdul Matin Khasru (12 February 1950 – 14 April 2021) [1] [2] [3] was a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician. He was a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Comilla-5 constituency during 1991–1995, 1996–2001 and 2009–2021. [4] [5] [6] [7] He served in the first Hasina cabinet as Minister of Law and Justice from 1997 until 2001. [8]
Khasru completed his SSC from Madhabpur High School in 1967. [9] He got admitted to Comilla Victoria Government College and completed graduation in 1970. [10] They were four brothers and three sisters of whom he was the eldest. His father served in the Pakistan Army. His son Munem Wasif is a photojournalist who works at Agence Vu photography agency. [11] Khasru was actively involved in politics since his student life. When he was a graduate student, the Bangladesh Liberation War started. Khasru fought in Burichang in Comilla District during the war. [2]
Khasru started his legal practice at the District and Sessions Judges Court, Comilla in 1978. [2] Later he started practicing in the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1982. He founded a law firm Abdul Matin Khasru & Associates in Dhaka.
Khasru was a senior advocate enrolled at the Bangladesh Bar Council. He was elected chairman of the executive committee of the Bangladesh Bar Council in 2015. [12]
On 16 March 2021, he won the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association Election 2021-2022 as the president from the White Panel backed by the Bangladesh Awami League. He died before taking charge. [13] [14]
Khasru was first elected to Parliament in 1991 from Comilla-5 on a nomination of Awami League defeating the incumbent, Mohammad Yunus of the Jatiya Party. He was re-elected in 1996. [15]
Khasru stood for re-election in 2001 but lost to Mohammad Yunus who had then been nominated by Bangladesh Nationalist Party. [16]
Khasru was elected to the parliament in 2008 on an Awami League nomination from Comilla-5. [16] He headed the Parliamentarians' Caucus on Disability during the 9th parliamentary sessions. [17] On 23 March 2011, he criticised the use of "vulgar" words by members of parliament in the Jatiya Sangshad. [18]
Khasru was re-elected to the parliament in 2014 on an Awami League nomination from Comilla-5. [16] In 2015, he was made the law secretary of Bangladesh Awami League. [19] He became a member of the party's Presidium in 2017. [20]
Khasru was re-elected to the parliament in 2018 on an Awami League nomination from Comilla-5. [16] He was the president of the parliamentary standing committee on law. He summoned the Anti-Corruption Commission to parliament over its failure to take action against the former chairperson of BASIC Bank, Sheikh Abdul Hai Bacchu, on loans scams. [21]
On 10 April 2020, Mosheur Mahfuz Babu, journalist and owner of Times of Cumilla, was arrested under the Digital Security Act for spreading "rumours" about Khasru. The website had reported Khasru's death. [22] During the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, Khasru provided food aid to 5000 families in Comilla in April 2020. [23]
Khasru died on 14 April 2021, after contracting COVID-19. He was under treatment at the Combined Military Hospital. [2] He had a son Munem Wasif and a daughter.