UNB, Dhaka :Altaf Mahmud, president of the pro-Awami League faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), died at a city hospital on Sunday morning. He was 66.Altaf Mahmud, also executive editor of the Bangla daily Destiny, breathed his last at 8:40 am at the intensive care unit (ICU) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).Altaf Mahmud, a permanent member of the Jatiya Press Club, had been suffering from neurological problems and undergoing treatment at the hospital.He is survived by wife, one son, two daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers. His namaz-e-janaza was held on the Jatiya Press Club premises around 12:30pm.Altaf Mahmud’s body was taken to his village home in Galachipa upazila of Patuakhali district by a helicopter around 4 pm. He will be buried at his family graveyard after namaz-e-janaza there on Monday morning.President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have expressed profound shock at the death of Altaf Mahmud.They also conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family members and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul.Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Railways Minister Mujibul Haq, LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandaker Mosharref Hossain, Speaker Dr Shirin Shamin Chaudhury, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, president and general secretary of the Jatiya Press Club Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman and Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, among others, expressed deep shock at the demise of the journalist leader.
