Mohammad A. Arafat (born 2 May 1973)[2] is a Bangladeshi academic, politician, parliamentarian and the former minister of state for information and broadcasting.[3][4]
Mohammad A. Arafat | |
|---|---|
মোহাম্মদ এ. আরাফাত | |
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting | |
| In office 11 January 2024 – 5 August 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina |
| Preceded by | Murad Hasan |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 17 July 2023 – 6 August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque |
| Constituency | Dhaka-17 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 May 1973 Rajshahi, Bangladesh |
| Political party | Bangladesh Awami League |
| Spouses |
|
| Alma mater | [1] |
| Occupation |
|
Arafat is a two-time member of the Bangladesh Parliament, having been elected from the Dhaka-17 constituency as an Awami League nominee in the 11th and 12th parliaments respectively in the space of 5 months and both times without any competition from major opposition parties.[5][6] He is also a member of the Awami League's central working committee.[7]
Career
editArafat was born on 2 May 1973 to Habibun Nisa and Mohammad Setab Uddin.[8]
The Rajshahi-born Arafat is a syndicate member and chief advisor to the board of trustees of the Canadian University of Bangladesh.[9][10][11] He is the founder of Suchinta Foundation.[12] He endorsed Annisul Huq for the North Dhaka Mayor election.[13]
Arafat has called for stronger ties with India and allowing transshipment of goods.[14] He wrote positively about Harsh Vardhan Shringla visit to Bangladesh and described it as "promising".[15]
Arafat falsely accused Reza Kibria, son of former Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria, a traitor for complaining about the human rights situation in Bangladesh to the United States.[16] He criticized the United States for placing sanctions on Rapid Action Battalion and described Gano Adhikar Parishad as a none threat to the Awami League government.[16]
Arafat was made a member of the Central Working Committee of the Awami League in December 2022.[17] In September 2022, the government of Bangladesh dismantled the existing trustee board of Manarat International University alleging it had links with Islamist militants and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.[18] Mayor of North Dhaka and Awami League politician, Atiqul Islam, was appointed chairman and Arafat was appointed a member of the newly created trustee board.[19]
During the 2024 quota movement led by students in Bangladesh, which resulted in approximately 266 deaths,[20][21][22][23] Arafat said that from their appearance, some protestors appeared to be under the influence of drugs.[24]
Arafat is also the chairman of the Dhaka-based not-for-profit social-advocacy organisation, the Suchinta Foundation.[25][26] The foundation has, among others, done extensive advocacy work in poverty eradication in Bangladesh through entrepreneurship development.
Personal life
editArafat married Shomi Kaiser, actress and daughter of Shahidullah Kaiser and Panna Kaiser, on 24 July 2008.[27][28] They divorced in 2015.[29][30]
References
edit- ^ "Profile - Mohammad A. Arafat". tritiyomatra.com.
- ^ "M Arafat: From a teacher to state minister". Dhaka Tribune. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "Mohammad Ali Arafat". Bangladesh Parliament. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Awami League candidate Arafat wins Dhaka-17 by-polls". Prothom Alo.
- ^ "Arafat elected from Dhaka-17 within 5 months without any visible competition". Somoy News.
- ^ "Arafat wins Dhaka-17 by-election". The Daily Star.
- ^ "Arafat, Tarana new faces in Awami League central committee".
- ^ "Honorable State Minister". moi.gov.bd. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Chairperson". Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "Introducing Canadian University of Bangladesh". Canadian University of Bangladesh. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ Masum, Obaidur. "Canadian University gets Rajuk's Purbachal plot 'in breach of rules'". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ miqbal (12 September 2022). "The international community must see the Bangladesh of 2022". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "The better candidate". Dhaka Tribune. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ Sharma, Sumit (17 August 2020). "India bids to head off China in Bangladesh". Asia Times. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "OP-ED: With a little help from our friends". Dhaka Tribune. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Complainant to foreigners, is a traitor Reza Kibria is inexperienced in politics". Barta24. 15 February 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "AL announces full-fledged central committee". Risingbd.com. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ Rahaman, Arafat (9 September 2022). "Manarat University: Govt reconstitutes trustee board over 'militancy links'". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ Rahaman, Arafat (8 September 2022). "Atiqul Islam made chairman of Manarat Int'l University Board of Trustees". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "Death toll rises to 209". Prothom Alo. 27 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "At least 55 killed in Bangladesh as protesters, police and pro-government activists clash". CNN. Reuters. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "At least 90 killed as Bangladesh protesters renew call for Hasina to quit". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "At least 97 die across country on a day of carnage". Prothom Alo. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Some protesters were drugged, says Arafat". New Age. UNB. 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Bangladesh-India ties are not a zero-sum game". The Daily Star.
- ^ "'We see no challenges as the stars are aligned in favour of the Awami League'". Dhaka Tribune.
- ^ জন্মদিন : শমী কায়সার :: দৈনিক ইত্তেফাক [Birthday: Shami Kaiser]. The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ "Shomi and Panna Kaiser on "Eki Brintey" tonight". The Daily Star. 19 November 2009.
- ^ "A new chapter begins for Shomi Kaiser". The Daily Star. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "Shomi Kaiser ties the knot with Reza Ameen". New Age. Retrieved 3 January 2023.