The body of Zainul Haque Sikder, a valiant freedom fighter, philanthropist and Chairman of Sikder Group of Companies and National Bank Ltd, arrived in Bangladesh on Friday.
The chartered aircraft carrying the body from Dubai arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 5:15pm, family sources said.
Zainul Haque Sikder passed away on Wednesday at a hospital in Dubai where he was undergoing treatment. He was 91.
Form the airport, his body was taken to ZH Sikder Women’s Medical College and Hospital at Gulshan and then to his residence in Dhanmondi.
Family sources said the first Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayer) for him will be held on ZH Sikder Medical College campus at Dhanmondi after Juhr prayers today (Saturday).
Then the body will be flown to his village home at Bhedarganj in Shariatpur where he will be laid to rest beside the grave of his mother after another Namaz-e-Janaza there.
Zainul Haque Sikder will be buried in state honour and given a guard of honour.
An entrepreneur of rare genre, he was born on August 12 in 1930 in Assam in undivided India and migrated to present-day Bangladesh with his family during the partition in 1947.
He was one of those who contributed greatly to the development and progress of Bangladesh. He established a large number of business ventures in the fields of education, health, housing and tourism and employed about 20,000 people in the last seven decades.
Apart from establishing business entities, Zainul Haque Sikder helped create numerous entrepreneurs. He extended helping hand to many leading entrepreneurs of the country during their initial days of establishing businesses.
He is well-known as a philanthropist too. Besides founding schools, colleges and hospitals, he extended support to efforts for poverty reduction and welfare of the underprivileged and marginal people of society.
Zainul Haque Sikder had been with Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as one of his close and trustworthy associates since 1945.
President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Parliament Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Cabinet members, political leaders, business leaders, and other dignitaries expressed condolence at his death.
The others giving condolence messages include Parliament Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah, Roads and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq, LGRD Minister Tajul Islam, Education Minister Dipu Moni, Foreign Affairs Minister AK Abdul Momen, Planning Minister MA Mannan, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Humayun, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Reazaul Karim, Land Minister Saifuzzman Chowdhury, Environment, Forest and Climate Minister Shahab Uddin, State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shariar Alam, State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain, State Minister for Information Murad Hasan, State Minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed, State Minister for Disaster Management Md Enamur Rahman, Deputy Minister for Water Resources AKM Enamul Haque Shamim, Awami League Advisory Council members Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed.
