The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Ozair Farooq died of cardiac arrest yesterday (Sunday). He was 63.

Family sources said Farooq suffered a massive heart attack in his private car near Baridhara. "He was rushed to Apollo Hospital nearby where the attending doctor declared him dead," said a source in his family.

Earlier, the veteran lawyer appeared in the court of the vacation chamber judge of the Supreme Court in connection with a case, court sources said.

Farooq, also a member of the advisory council of Awami League, left behind his wife Momtaz Farooq, son Barrister Imtiaz Farooq, daughter Dr Nusrat Farooq and a host of relations and admirers to mourn his death.

He will be buried at his ancestral village at Chatkhil in Noakhali today (Monday) morning.

Acting Awami League President Zillur Rahman and General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam in a joint statement expressed profound shock at the death of Ozair Farooq, who was also ex-president of the English Alumni Society of Dhaka University.

In the statement they recalled that Farooq played a significant role in different movements in the country, including those for establishing democracy, justice, the rule of law, and separation of the judiciary from the executive control.

"We lost a trusted friend of ours in his sudden death," said the Awami League leadership.

They also prayed for salvation of the departed soul and conveyed their deep sympathies to the bereaved family members.