Adviser AF Hassan Ariff passes away

Civil Aviation and Tourism Adviser AF Hassan Ariff passed away while undergoing treatment at a Dhaka hospital on Friday. 

He breathed his last around 3:30pm at the Labaid Hospital in Dhanmondi. He was 83. 

Mohammad Nasir Uddin, his personal secretary, told UNB that Ariff collapsed while having lunch at home earlier on Friday.

He was rushed to the hospital where doctors confirmed he had suffered a cardiac arrest, and was subsequently pronounced dead.

Ariff’s first namaz-e-janaza will be held at Baitul Aman Mosque on Dhanmondi Road 7 after the Isha prayers on Friday evening.

Another janaza will be held at the High Court premises at 11am on Saturday, according to a Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry’s notification.

On August 8, Hassan Ariff was appointed as an adviser to the interim government, overseeing the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, and the Ministry of Land.

He was later assigned responsibilities for the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

AF Hassan Ariff had a distinguished legal career spanning over five decades.

He began his practice at the Calcutta High Court in 1967.

In 1970, he relocated to Dhaka, enrolling in the High Court, and later founded AF Hassan Ariff & Associates, a leading law firm with offices in Dhaka and Chittagong.

He served as Bangladesh's attorney general from October 2001 to April 2005 and as the law adviser (Cabinet Minister) of the caretaker government from January 2008 to January 2009.

An authority in constitutional law, commercial arbitration and public procurement, Ariff was a panelist at the Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (Biac), Saarc Arbitration Council and Shanghai Arbitration Commission.

He also held the position of court member at the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

He advised numerous government and corporate entities, including the Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Bank, and Chittagong Port Authority, along with telecom giants Robi Axiata and Grameenphone.

Beyond his legal practice, he was a resource person for the Bangladesh Bar Council’s Continuing Legal Education and Human Rights Training Program and a prominent member of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh.

In 2010, he led the Election Observer Mission for the Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel) in Manila, Philippines.