Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) president and veteran journalist Altaf Mahmood will be laid to eternal rest beside his parent's graves at Rupnagar under Galachipa in Patuakhali district on Monday.

His body has been taken to Rupnagar by a helicopter after his second Namaz-e-Janaza on the premises of Jatiya Press Club (JPC) on Sunday afternoon.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed profound shock at the death of the eminent journalist.

In a condolence message, the President said the contribution of Altaf Mahmood to journalism will ever be remembered.

The death of this senior journalist is an irreparable loss to the country's journalism, he added.

In a separate message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Altaf Mahmood was an uncompromising and front-ranking journalist leader in the movement for realizing the professional rights of the journalists.

She said after the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, the military juntas imposed an unofficial embargo on any utterance of the name of the Father of the Nation.

"During that dark period, Altaf Mahmood showed indomitable courage by projecting Bangabandhu in the Weekly Khabar and the Daily Khabar," she said.

The Prime Minister said the role Altaf Mahmood had played in upholding the spirit of the War of Liberation as well as in all democratic movements, and the movement against communalism would be ever remembered.

At the second janaza on the premises of Jatiya Press Club (JPC), Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque, Food Minister Advocate Qamrul Islam, Prime Minister's Media Advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, State Minister for Jute and Textiles Mirza Azam,

Managing Director and Chief Editor of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Abul Kalam Azad, Editor of Daily Samakal Golam Sarwar, Awami League Joint General Secretaries Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif and Advocate Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Publicity and Publication Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud, Information and Research Secretary Advocate Afzal Hossain,

JPC President Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, General Secretary Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, AL leader Mozaffar Hossain Paltu, Information Secretary Mortuza Ahmed, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Vice-Chancellor Professor Kamrul Hasan, former JPC secretary Swapan Saha,

BFUJ former president Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul and secretary general Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan, BFUJ incumbent Secretary General Omar Faruque, Treasurer Madhusudan Mondal, Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Shah Alamgir, PM's Deputy Press Secretaries Ashraful Alam Khokan and Mamunur Rashid attended, among others.

After the janaza, representatives of Prime Minister's Office, Awami League, JPC, BFUJ, DUJ, Barisal Divisional Journalists Association and Gonojagoran Manch, among other associations, paid rich tributes to Altaf Mahmood.

They prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

After the janaza, Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu said, "The sad demise of Altaf Mahmood is a great loss to the journalist community of the country."

He recalled his contribution to journalism, democratic movements and different critical events of the nation.

PM's Media Advisor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said, "He was always sincere in realizing the demands of journalists."

"His sincerity and strong leadership will remain alive in the hearts of his colleagues forever, and his loss will also be felt by the common people," he added.

Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim, LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu,

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman and Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hossain Manju, Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder,

Chief Whip ASM Feroz, State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives M Mashiur Rahman Ranga, Information Secretary Martuza Ahmed, Local Government Division Secretary Abdul Malek, Rural Development and Cooperatives Department Secretary MA Quader Sarker,

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor AAMS Arefin Siddique, BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Kamrul Hasan Khan and former BFUJ President and BSS Managing Director and Chief Editor Abul Kalam Azad, among others, condoled the death of the veteran journalist.

BFUJ Secretary General Omar Faruk and Treasurer Madhusudan Mondal also mourned the death of Mahmood.

They conveyed deep sympathy to the family members of Mahmood and prayer for eternal peace of departed soul.

Earlier, the first Namaz-e-Janaza of Altaf Mahmood was held on the Dhaka Reporters Unity premises.

Altaf Mahmood died this morning at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital at 65.

He started his career in journalism in the 1970s. Mahmood worked in Bengali newspaper Dainik Destiny, weekly, 'Saptahik Khabar', private-run television channel "My TV".

The veteran journalist used to attend talk-shows in various TV channels as a political analyst.

Mahmood had been the general secretary of the undivided Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ). He also had been the president of one of the DUJ factions for five terms.

BSS/RI