Rautahat. Nepali Congress leader and former minister Mohammad Aftab Alam passed away on Saturday morning.
Alam had been admitted to hospital a month ago after suffering from health complications related to high blood pressure and diabetes, among other ailments.
He was undergoing treatment at Kathmandu Medical College (KMC), where he had been kept on a ventilator for the past few days. Congress leader Dev Prasad Timilsina confirmed that Alam passed away on Saturday morning during the course of treatment. He said preparations are underway to bring Alam’s body from Kathmandu to Rautahat.
Alam is survived by two sons and one daughter. His elder son is Dr. Firdos Alam, and his younger son Dr. Rajik Alam is currently serving as the Mayor of Rajpur Municipality.
According to Dr. Rajik Alam, his father had been taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi a few months ago for treatment but was later brought back home.
After returning from AIIMS, Alam continued receiving treatment at KMC, where he passed away this morning.
Alam was elected to the House of Representatives from the Nepali Congress in 2056 BS and 2064 BS. He had previously served as State Minister for Labour, State Minister for Forests, State Minister for Local Development, and Minister for Land Reform.
Recognized as a key figure in establishing organized Madhesi–Muslim leadership within the Nepali Congress, Alam had spent nearly six years in prison on charges related to a bomb explosion incident in Rajpur on the eve of the 2008 (2064 BS) Constituent Assembly elections.
In Jestha this year, the High Court ordered the release of Alam and several other accused in the case. However, the final verdict on the case has yet to be concluded.
