Aminul Haque (1942/1943 – 21 April 2019) was a
Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician who served as the
Bangladesh Minister of Post and Telecommunications. A member of the
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), he represented
Rajshahi-1
Rajshahi-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in t ...
as a member of parliament from 1991 to 2006.
Political career
Haque was a barrister. He was elected a member of parliament from the
Rajshahi-1
Rajshahi-1 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in t ...
constituency in the elections held in 1991, 1996 and 2001.
He served as the
Post and Telecommunications Minister during 2001–2006.
Allegations and imprisonments
In 2005, a BNP MP from
Rajshahi-3 constituency, Abu Hena alleged that Haque was among several party members who were affiliated with
Bangla Bhai
Siddique ul-Islam ( bn, সিদ্দিকুল ইসলাম ''Siddikul Islam''), known popularly as Bangla Bhai (বাংলা ভাই "Bengali Brother") (1970 – 30 March 2007), also known as Jawad uddin attari ( bn, আজিজ ...
, military commander of a local Islamist organization.
In November, Hena was expelled from the party for the statements over the rise of Islamic militancy in the country. Bangla Bhai, before his execution in January 2007, disclosed Haque's name as one of the patrons of Islamist militancy. In July 2007, Haque was sentenced ''in absentia'' to 31 years and six months' imprisonment for aiding and abetting the militants of
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen ("Assembly of Mujahideen--Bangladesh", abbreviated: JMB; bn, জামাত-উল-মুজাহিদীন বাংলাদেশ) is a terrorist organisation operating in Bangladesh. It is listed as a terror group by ...
(JMB) in extorting and torturing people in
Bagmara Upazila in 2004.
In May 2009,
Frontline World
''Frontline'' (stylized as FRONTLINE) is an investigative documentary program distributed by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Episodes are produced at WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts. The series has covered a variety ...
, a US-based news service, reported he had received bribes from the German company,
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
in 2004.
In July 2009, Haque surrendered and was sent to jail.
In January 2018,
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা ...
Sheikh Hasina named Haque as one of the 50 Bangladeshis whose names were included in the
Paradise Papers
The Paradise Papers are a set of over 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked to the German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer, from the newspaper'' Süddeutsch ...
.
Death
Haque died on 21 April 2019 at the age of 76 by lung cancer .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haque, Aminul
1940s births
2019 deaths
People from Rajshahi District
Politicians from Rajshahi Division
Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians
5th Jatiya Sangsad members
6th Jatiya Sangsad members
7th Jatiya Sangsad members
8th Jatiya Sangsad members
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology ministers
Date of birth missing