Hafiz Uddin to office at Bangabhaban

Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmad will carry out his official duties from Bangabhaban but will continue to live at the speaker’s official residence within the Jatiya Sangsad complex, BNP Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan said in a statement on Saturday.

Security around the speaker’s residence and the surrounding parliament complex has been reinforced since Friday afternoon to protect the acting president, Sayrul said.

Hafiz Uddin assumed the responsibilities of acting president on Friday under constitutional provisions, hours after President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned citing health grounds.

As Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, he was next in line to take over the presidency’s functions until a new head of state is elected.

According to Sayrul, the acting president will lay a wreath at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar at 11:30 a.m. Sunday to pay tribute to those who died in the country’s Liberation War.

He will then travel to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital at 12:30 p.m. to visit the graves of former president Ziaur Rahman and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, where he is scheduled to offer prayers and pay his respects.

The visits mark the acting president’s first public engagements since taking over presidential duties, as attention in political circles turns to the process of electing Shahabuddin’s permanent successor within the constitutionally mandated 90-day window.