Abdul Matin Khasru

Abdul Matin Khasru
Abdul Matin Khasru
আবদুল মতিন খসরু
	Khasru in 2018
Minister of Law and Justice
	In office; 14 January 1997 – 15 July 2001
Prime Minister	Sheikh Hasina
Preceded by	Mirza Ghulam Hafiz
Succeeded by	Moudud Ahmed
Member of Parliament; for Comilla-5
	In office; 5 March 1991 – 24 November 1995
Preceded by	Mohammad Yunus
	In office; 14 July 1996 – 13 July 2001
Preceded by	Mujibur Rahman
	In office; 25 January 2009 – 14 April 2021
Preceded by	Mohammad Yunus
Succeeded by	Abul Hashim Khan
Personal details
Born	12 February 1950; Comilla District, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
Died	14 April 2021 (aged 71); Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Political party	Bangladesh Awami League
Alma mater	Comilla Victoria Government College
Occupation	Lawyer, Politician

Abdul Matin Khasru (12 February 1950 – 14 April 2021)^[1]^[2]^[3] was a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician. He was a Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Comilla-5 constituency during 1991–1995, 1996–2001 and 2009–2021.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] He served in the first Hasina cabinet as Minister of Law and Justice from 1997 until 2001.^[8]

Personal life

Khasru completed his SSC from Madhabpur High School in 1967.^[9] He got admitted to Comilla Victoria Government College and completed graduation in 1970.^[10] They were four brothers and three sisters of whom he was the eldest. His father served in the Pakistan Army. His son Munem Wasif is a photojournalist who works at Agence Vu photography agency.^[11] Khasru was actively involved in politics since his student life. When he was a graduate student, the Bangladesh Liberation War started. Khasru fought in Burichang in Comilla District during the war.^[2]

Career

Khasru started his legal practice at the District and Sessions Judges Court, Comilla in 1978.^[2] Later he started practicing in the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court in 1982. He founded a law firm Abdul Matin Khasru & Associates in Dhaka.

Khasru was a senior advocate enrolled at the Bangladesh Bar Council. He was elected chairman of the executive committee of the Bangladesh Bar Council in 2015.^[12]

On 16 March 2021, he won the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association Election 2021-2022 as the president from the White Panel backed by the Bangladesh Awami League. He died before taking charge.^[13]^[14]

Political career

Khasru was first elected to Parliament in 1991 from Comilla-5 on a nomination of Awami League defeating the incumbent, Mohammad Yunus of the Jatiya Party. He was re-elected in 1996.^[15]

Khasru stood for re-election in 2001 but lost to Mohammad Yunus who had then been nominated by Bangladesh Nationalist Party.^[16]

Khasru was elected to the parliament in 2008 on an Awami League nomination from Comilla-5.^[16] He headed the Parliamentarians' Caucus on Disability during the 9th parliamentary sessions.^[17] On 23 March 2011, he criticised the use of "vulgar" words by members of parliament in the Jatiya Sangshad.^[18]

Khasru was re-elected to the parliament in 2014 on an Awami League nomination from Comilla-5.^[16] In 2015, he was made the law secretary of Bangladesh Awami League.^[19] He became a member of the party's Presidium in 2017.^[20]

Khasru was re-elected to the parliament in 2018 on an Awami League nomination from Comilla-5.^[16] He was the president of the parliamentary standing committee on law. He summoned the Anti-Corruption Commission to parliament over its failure to take action against the former chairperson of BASIC Bank, Sheikh Abdul Hai Bacchu, on loans scams.^[21]

On 10 April 2020, Mosheur Mahfuz Babu, journalist and owner of Times of Cumilla, was arrested under the Digital Security Act for spreading "rumours" about Khasru. The website had reported Khasru's death.^[22] During the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, Khasru provided food aid to 5000 families in Comilla in April 2020.^[23]

Death

Khasru died on 14 April 2021, after contracting COVID-19. He was under treatment at the Combined Military Hospital.^[2] He had a son Munem Wasif and a daughter.^{[citation needed]}