PEN Bangladesh elects new executive committee

NN Online :

PEN Bangladesh, the national chapter of PEN International, has elected a new executive committee for the term 2025–2027 during its Annual General Meeting held today from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Professor Shamsad Mortuza, a writer, translator, and professor of English at the University of Dhaka, has been elected as the President of PEN Bangladesh. Poet and journalist Jahanara Parveen has been elected as the General Secretary. The newly elected Vice Presidents are Professor Shamim Reza, writer Parvez Hossain, and Professor Muhsin Uddin.

Other key office bearers include: Hamim Karul Hoque (Writer) and Muhsin Habib (Journalist) as Joint General Secretaries, Lovely Talukder (Writer) as Treasurer, Sharafat Hossain (Journalist) as Publicity Secretary and Zahid Sohag as Office Secretary. The elected Executive Committee Members are: Shakira Parveen, Mohammad Moheuddin, Shahed Kayes, Dr. Suryia Farzana Hossain, and Wasim Palash.

Outgoing President Kazi Anis Ahmed and General Secretary Md Moheuddin addressed the members during the session and emphasized the importance of safeguarding literary freedom in Bangladesh. They also stressed the need to uphold the regulatory framework and ethical commitments laid down by PEN International, reaffirming PEN Bangladesh’s pledge to its founding values.

PEN Bangladesh is part of PEN International, a global network founded in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual cooperation among writers, and to defend freedom of expression. After the partition of India, Pakistan PEN was established in 1948 with Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah as its first President and Syed Ali Ahsan as General Secretary. Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the organization was renamed PEN Bangladesh.

The newly elected President, Shamsad Mortuza, in his remarks, expressed his commitment to expanding PEN Bangladesh’s reach across languages, regions, and generations. He emphasized the importance of defending writers at risk, promoting translation and multilingualism, and enhancing international collaborations. “PEN Bangladesh will remain a platform for freedom, dissent, and literary excellence,” he stated