The Minister of State for Information of the dictatorial Sheikh Hasina government, Mohammad Ali Arafat, has been detained. He was arrested from Gulshan area of ​​the capital on Tuesday (August 27).

Mohammad Ali Arafat was elected Member of Parliament from Dhaka-17 Constituency in the Twelfth National Parliament Election with Awami League’s boat symbol. Later he took oath as Minister of State in Sheikh Hasina’s new cabinet.

Arafat has been working as a think tank of Awami League for a long time. He became a member of the Central Executive Committee of Awami League in December 2022.

Arafat’s father Mohammad Setab Uddin was director of Bangladesh Betar. He married Shami Qaiser, daughter of Shahidullah Qaiser and Panna Qaiser, on 24 July 2008. They got divorced in 2015. Then married Sharmin Mustari.

Muhammad Ali Arafat is an academic. He was Professor of Strategic Management and Policy at Canadian University of Bangladesh and Chairman of Suchinta Foundation.

He has written many articles in national and international media on various topics like economic development and challenges of Bangladesh, transit and connectivity, appropriate policies for power sector, war crimes justice, political development and democracy in Bangladesh etc.