Dr AKM Tofazzal Karim, who was elected Secretary of the Bangladesh Medical Association for several times, died of heart attack on the 27th of July at 7:30 am at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka. He was 87.
The Late Karim had joined the Army Medical Corps before the country’s Independence. Due to his allegiance to Bangladesh during the Liberation War, he was court-martialed and held captive in Rawalpindi. He later courageously escaped to Afghanistan only to return to Bangladesh and join the Liberation War efforts. After Independence, he joined the Titas Gas Company as its Chief Medical Officer.
Dr Karim was born in a well-respected Muslim family on the 1st of April, 1939, in Berkuri Village, in the sub-district of Kulaura, under the Maulvi Bazar district of greater Sylhet. He was the elder brother of Former secretary and Ambassador Mofazzal Karim. He was known to be very dear and close to Bangabandhu. His wife, Professor Dr. Nurjahan Khanum, passed away a year ago.
After serving in the Titas Gas Company, Dr Karim established Upshom Nursing Home, a clinic in the capital’s Dhanmondi area. During the popular movement against the authoritarian regime, he treated many injured political figures and activists at the clinic free of cost.
Dr Karim is survived by three of his four daughters. His eldest daughter Professor Dr Jasmine Jahan Islam was a senior lecturer at the University of Canberra, Australia. She is married to Professor Atiqul Islam, who is the Vice-Chancellor of North South University. His second daughter Nasreen Jahan Ahmed is a school teacher in Perth, Australia. The third daughter, TanjinJahan Ahmed, works as a senior microbiologist in Sydney, Australia.
The Late Dr Karim was a very generous man whose commitment and dedication to his work and the upliftment of the community will always be remembered and heavily missed by those who had known him. He was an exemplary human being who believed in living a simple life, and his death will remain a great loss for all.
At the time of his death, along with his three daughters, he left behind, grandchildren, and many well-wishers. People from all walks of life, socio-cultural organizations, professions, Bangladesh Awami League leaders and activists, and members of various political organizations have expressed their grief over his death.
