Staff Reporter :Veteran journalist Sadeque Khan is no more. He was 83 and suffering from cold over the last few days but did not withdraw from writing and other work. Sadeque Khan was the eldest son of Abdul Jabbar Khan, Speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly in 1960s. His brother, Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, said he was found dead in his Baridhara residence in the city on Monday morning. Sadeque Khan’s car driver Nazrul Islam said the veteran journalist went for a shower at around 11 am. As he was not coming out and not responding to calls for long, the door of the washroom was broken open at around 12 noon. He was found dead lying on the floor, he said. The driver said Rashed Khan Menon rushed to the house on receiving the information and sent Sadeque Khan’s body to United Hospital. The 83-year-old journalist is survived by his wife, and a son. Sadeque Khan embarked on a career in journalism in the 1950s. Over time, he wrote columns for different newspapers, both Bengali and English including the Weekly Holiday till to his death without break. He started his career as a film maker. ‘Nadi O Nari’ a film he starred in, was released in the early 1960s. He also produced a film ‘Raja Elo Sohorey’ and another film named ‘Duur a hai sukh ka gaon’ was produced by him but could not be released for some other reasons. An adherent of the political ideology of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Sadeque Khan announced the establishment of a political party named Bangladesh Ganashakti Dal in 2012. He was actively involved in Communist movement in his early days and eventually became the General Secretary of East Pakistan Communist Party. But he resigned at one point due to ill health. Sadeque Khan was a highly acclaimed art critic. He was a political analyst and TV talk show participants. He would write lead column in the Holiday every week, the oldest national weekly his brother AZM Enayetullah Khan has founded. Sadeque Khan also founded Global Bangla Foundation to carry research on contemporary politics and culture and make documentation of events at national level. He had also set up a firm ‘Lubdhak’ in his earlier days and produced many documentaries of socio-cultural interest. Sadeque Khan was also a recipient of Ekushey Padak for his valiant role in Language Movement. Barrister Mainul Hosein has condoled the death of veteran journalist Sadeque Khan. He visited his house where family members were present and expressed his profound grief to the family on his demise. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and leaders M Shamsul Islam and Tariqul Islam expressed condolence at his death. Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu, Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, expressed condolences over the death of Sadeque Khan in separate messages. Sadeque Khan was Chairman of Gonoshashtya Kendra Trust. Gonobishwabiddalaya held a condolence meeting at its Savar campus over the death. He was the eldest among six children of Abdul Jabbar Khan, whose family hailed from Babuganj, Barisal. His brother Abu Zafar Muhammad Obaidullah Khan was a secretary to the government. Prominent as poet Abu Zafar Obaidullah, he later served as agriculture minister of HM Ershad government. Another brother Enayetullah Khan was the founder of weekly Holiday and English daily New Age. In the late 1970s, Enayetullah Khan served in the government of General Ziaur Rahman. Under the Ershad regime, Enayetullah Khan was Bangladesh’s ambassador to China and Myanmar. Sadeque Khan’s sister Selima Rahman is a BNP vice-chairman and was a state minister in Khaleda Zia’s government. His brother Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party, is currently minister for civil aviation and tourism. Another brother, Shahidullah Khan Badal, once a contractor, is a director of Dhaka Bank and is on the board of directors of the newspaper New Age.Now-defunct Daily Azad chief reporter Sheikh Rakib Uddin told said, “Sadeque Khan had a chequered career. He proved his talent not only in journalism, but also in different areas of the film industry.”Secretary General of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists’ pro-BNP faction M Abdullah, Dhaka Union of Journalists President Abdul Hye Sikder and General Secretary Jahangir Alam Prodhan, National Press Club President Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman and General Secretary Kamrul Islam Chowdhury also condoled Sadeque Khan’s death. In a condolence message, they prayed for salvation of the departed soul and conveyed their sympathy to the bereaved family membersFamily members recovered his body breaking the washroom’s door open as he was lying senseless. He was taken to United Hospital where doctors declared him dead. His body will be brought to the Jatiya Press Club at 10am on Tuesday so that all can pay their last respects to him. His second namaz-e-zanaza will be held at Gulshan Azad Mosque after Asar prayer and to be buried at Banani graveyard at the grave side of his father Abdul Jabbar Khan.
