Former Bangladesh President Hussain Muhammad Ershad died at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka on Sunday morning at the age of 89, The Dhaka Tribune reported. He was also the current chairperson of the Jatiya Party and the leader of Opposition in Parliament.
Inter Services Public Relations Director Lt Colonel Abdullah Ibn Zayed told the daily that Ershad died at 7.45 am on Sunday. The Jatiya Party’s Acting Chairperson GM Quader said in a press briefing that Ershad’s organs had stopped functioning.
Ershad was admitted to the hospital on June 22. He had been suffering from old age issues, including low haemoglobin and liver problems, high bilirubin and knee pain.
Ershad was the military ruler of Bangladesh from March 24, 1982, to December 6, 1990, when fierce protests by Opposition parties forced him to step down. Ershad was later accused of corruption and imprisoned.
On May 15, 2011, the Bangladesh Supreme Court pronounced that the martial law Ershad had declared in the 1980s was illegal.
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