Obaidul Quader in ‘critical condition’
Doctors say Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader is suffering from heart disease and is currently in critical condition.
According to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Cardiology Department Prof Syed Ali Ahsan, who is leading the board overseeing his care, the road transport minister has three arterial blocks. One of the blocks has been removed by stenting, he added.
His condition is unstable, he added.
“There is nothing to do but pray,” he said. “As he is on ventilation it can be said that he is in critical condition.”
Doctors could not say whether the Awami League leader was in any condition to be moved or transferred to another hospital.
The Awami League had previously announced that it was making preparations to take Quader to Singapore for medical care.
“We have contacted them for advanced treatment,” Awami League Publicity and Publication Secretary and Information Minister Hasan Mahmud had said. “We hope to take him to Singapore as soon as possible.”
Quader was admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of BSMMU at 7:30 am on Sunday after suddenly taking ill. Awami League leaders rushed to the spot upon hearing the news.
BSMMU Vice Chancellor Prof Kanak Kanti Barua and Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif had previously held a briefing to inform the media about the Awami League leader’s condition.
“The block in the main artery has been removed,” Prof Barua had said. “He will be under observation for 24 hours. Then we can decide whether he will require bypass surgery.”
“The prime minister is in constant contact with the doctors and the family and is monitoring the situation,” said Hanif. “She has instructed people not to crowd the hospital unnecessarily.”
Quader, 67, was elected the Awami League’s general secretary in 2016.
He had spent two and a half years in prison after the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975. He was elected the president of the Chhatra League while still incarcerated.
During the Liberation War, Quader had been the captain of the Companyganj Thana Mujib Bahini.
He was first elected to parliament in 1996 and secured a victory from Noakhali-5 four times. In 1996, when the Awami League returned to power, Quader was selected as the state minister for youth, sports and cultural affairs. In 2002, after the Awami League lost the next election, he became the joint general secretary of the party.
Like many other politicians, Quader was imprisoned during the state of emergency declared by the military-backed caretaker government in 2007. He spent 18 months in jail and was released on bail two months before the ninth parliamentary election.
The Awami League returned to power after securing a victory in the polls. At first Quader was made the chief of the parliamentary standing committee on the information ministry.
Midway through the term, he was chosen by the prime minister as the minister of communications.
He has since led the ministry, which was later renamed the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges.
