Former military ruler, Opposition leader of Bangladesh passes away

Dhaka: Bangladesh's former military ruler and President Hussain Muhammad Ershad passed away Sunday morning at Dhaka's Combined Military Hospital, state media announced.

According to Bangladesh's state news agency, Ershad died at 7:45 AM, breathing his last in an intensive care unit where he had been kept on life support for past nine days.

Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and speaker of parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury all mourned the loss of Ershad.

In a statement carried by state media, Ershad's brother and Jatiya Party leader GM Quader said, "Previously he tried to respond opening his eyes, but on Saturday he could not blink his eyes."

The former army chief was born in 1930 in Dinhata, present-day West Bengal. In 1948, his parents migrated to East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) following partition. He would go on to study at the Carmichael College in Rangpur and graduated from Dhaka University in 1950 before joining the army in 1952.

Ershad came to power in a coup d'etat in 1982, overthrowing then-President Abdus Sattar. He ruled the country until 1990, when he was forced to step down amid a mass uprising.

He would later be imprisoned and would go on to be elected to parliament multiple times. He was the leader of the opposition in the country's current parliament.