President Accepts Ishraq Hossain’s Resignation, Cabinet Division Issues Gazette Notification

President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has accepted the resignation of Ishraq Hossain from the post of State Minister for Liberation War Affairs. The Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification in this regard on Tuesday (20 October). With this, the resignation he announced yesterday has taken formal effect.

On Monday noon, at a press conference at the National Press Club, Dhaka-6 MP Ishraq Hossain had formally announced his decision to resign as state minister. Within a day, the process was completed with the acceptance of the resignation letter and the issuance of the notification.

At the press conference he had said, “I took up arms temporarily only in self-defence. I did not break any law in that incident. But to protect the party’s image and keep its honour intact, I have decided to resign from the post of state minister.”

Explaining his position, he denied breaking the law but put the question of the party’s image and honour at the front as the reason for resigning. Since that statement, discussion had been under way in political circles about when the resignation would take effect.

Cabinet Division sources said Ishraq Hossain submitted his written resignation on Monday evening. Following procedure, the letter was sent to the President through Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

After the President accepted the resignation, the Cabinet Division issued the notification on Tuesday. With its issuance, his tenure as state minister formally came to an end.

Ishraq Hossain had been serving as State Minister for Liberation War Affairs. The minister in charge of the ministry is Ahmed Azam Khan. With the state minister’s post now vacant, attention will turn to whether a new appointment is made.

Ishraq Hossain has said that although he has left the state minister’s post, his activities against drugs will not stop. He has also announced that he will continue those activities as an ordinary party worker. His role as the MP for Dhaka-6 remains unchanged.

The sequence of events from announcement to notification was swift. The announcement at a Monday noon press conference, the written resignation submitted that evening, and the President’s acceptance and the Cabinet Division notification on Tuesday — the entire process was completed in little more than a day.

A state minister leaving office in this manner is significant for both the government and the party, especially as he himself cited protecting the party’s image as the reason for his decision; the political message of the resignation is likely to remain under discussion.

The questions ahead are who will be given charge of the vacant state minister post at the Liberation War Affairs Ministry, and how Ishraq Hossain takes forward his announced anti-drug activities as an MP and party worker. All eyes are now on the government’s next step.