Morshed Khan Explained

Morshed Khan
Native Name:মোরশেদ খান
Native Name Lang:bn
Office:Minister of Foreign Affairs
Primeminister:Khaleda Zia
Term Start:14 November 2001
Term End:29 October 2006
Predecessor:A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury
Successor:Iajuddin Ahmed
Office1:Member of Parliament
Constituency1:Chittagong-10
Term Start1:19 March 1996
Term End1:27 October 2006
Predecessor1:Sirajul Islam Chowdhury
Successor1:M. Abdul Latif
Constituency2:Chittagong-10
Term Start2:7 May 1986
Term End2:3 March 1988
Predecessor2:Sirajul Islam Chowdhury
Successor2:Begum Kamrun Nahar Jafar
Birth Date:8 August 1940
Birth Place:Chittagong, Bengal Presidency, British India
Spouse:Nasrin Khan
Nationality:Bangladeshi
Occupation:Politician
Party:Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Alma Mater:Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

Morshed Khan (born 8 August 1940) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the minister of foreign affairs of Bangladesh from 2001 until 2006.[1] He served as a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Chittagong-10 constituency in the 6th, 7th and 8th parliaments.

Khan was imprisoned in May 2009 in connection with a graft case in which he was sentenced to 13 years.[2]

Education

Khan completed his Bachelor of Engineering study from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

Career

In 1986, Khan was elected to the Jatiya Sangsad.[3] He was then elected to parliament three more times (February 1996, June 1996, and 2001).[4] He was the special envoy to the prime minister during the tenure of the full-fledged minister from 12 to 8, and was also the chairman of the Bangladesh Special Committee on Foreign Affairs. Morshed Khan served as the foreign minister of the government of Bangladesh from 2001 to 2006.[5]

Khan retired from politics by resigning from the vice president post of BNP on 5 November 2019.[6]

Charges and convictions

In December 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed cases against Khan and his wife for amassing Tk 1.7 crore wealth illegally and concealing information about wealth worth Tk 91.34 lakh in his wealth statement submitted to ACC.[7] In August 2008, a special judge's court convicted Khan and sentenced him to 13 years' imprisonment.[7] The High Court, in August 2010, suspended that sentence following an appeal by Khan.[7]

In 2013, ACC filed a case Khan, his wife Nasrin Khan and their son Faisal Morshed Khan under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.[8] In September 2019, a Dhaka court allowed the government and ACC to confiscate their assets in Hong Kong.[8] The assets include Hong Kong dollar worth Tk 16 crore with Standard Chartered Bank and 16.8 lakh shares of Fareast Telecommunications Ltd in Hong Kong.[8]

Personal life

Khan is married to Nasrin Khan (originally from Jalpaiguri). His son, Faisal Morshed Khan, was the managing director of the pioneer mobile operator of Bangladesh, CityCell Mobile, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom. Faisal is married to his cousin, the daughter of A. M. Zahiruddin Khan (his father Morshed Khan's first-cousin). Morshed Khan's daughter is married to the only son of Salman F Rahman.[9]

Notes and References

  1. News: Former Bangladesh foreign minister jailed in absentia . 2008-08-04 . Reuters . 2019-10-03 . en.
  2. News: Morshed Khan sent to jail . 2009-05-11 . The Daily Star . en . 2019-10-03.
  3. Web site: Bangladesh Parliament Election 1986 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180918080059/http://www.parliament.gov.bd/images/pdf/formermp/3rd.pdf . 18 September 2018 .
  4. Web site: Bangladesh election 1996 . Jatiya Sangsad . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180915084544/http://www.parliament.gov.bd/images/pdf/formermp-bangla/6th%20Parliament%20.pdf . 15 September 2018 .
  5. News: ACC slaps travel ban on ex-BNP minister Morshed Khan . 2019-06-10 . Dhaka Tribune . 2019-11-05.
  6. News: https://www.thedailystar.net/bangla/%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7-%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%B0/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%A5%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%97-%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%9B%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8-125101 . bn:বিএনপি থেকে পদত্যাগ করছেন মোরশেদ খান . 2019-11-06 . The Daily Star . bn . 2019-11-06.
  7. News: SC allows ACC to appeal against Morshed Khan's acquittal . 2016-01-15 . The Daily Star . en . 2019-10-03.
  8. News: Court allows govt to confiscate Morshed Khan's bank accounts . 2019-09-19 . The Daily Star . en . 2019-10-03.
  9. News: Ex-FM Morshed Khan leaves for London by chartered flight in pandemic . bdnews24.com . 2020-05-30 . 2020-05-29.