|| Md Mosleh Uddin Bacchu: A discussion meeting, milad and doa mahfil were held in memory of late Professor Rafiqullah Sikder, editor of the daily Alor Barta and The Daily State and chief adviser to the Dhaka Press Club, and late Sumaiya Begum, mother of Dhaka Press Club President Lion Md Shahadat Hossain Shaheen.The programme was organised by the Dhaka Press Club at the Bangladesh Shishu Kalyan Parishad (Bashikp) auditorium on Topkhana Road in the capital at 10:00am on Friday (October 30, 2026).The programme began with a one-minute silence in tribute to the deceased, followed by recitation from the Holy Quran by Hafez Tawhidur Rahman.Presided over by Dhaka Press Club President Lion Md Shahadat Hossain Shaheen and conducted by its General Secretary Md Mosleh Uddin Bacchu, the meeting featured tributes to Professor Rafiqullah Sikder, highlighting his professional life and contributions to journalism.Speakers described Professor Sikder as a dedicated and committed professional journalist, saying his contributions to the expansion of the media industry and the development of new journalists would be remembered forever. His untimely death was a great loss to the country's journalism sector, they added.Among those who spoke were Dhaka Press Club Adviser Advocate Shafiqul Islam Kajal, Central President of the Society of National Mass Media Commission AKM Azizul Haque and Gazipur Central Press Club President Abdul Wahab Rinku.Other speakers included Dhaka Press Club Senior Vice-President Afsana Rahman, Treasurer M Nazrul Islam, Joint General Secretary Nazrul Islam, member Shahjan Fakir, the late professor's son Md Rana Sikder and nephew Mahmud Hasan Pavel, along with other club leaders and distinguished guests.Following the discussion, a special doa and munajat were offered, seeking eternal peace for the departed souls of Professor Rafiqullah Sikder and Sumaiya Begum. Hafez Maulana Salahuddin conducted the munajat.It may be mentioned that eminent journalist and teacher Professor Rafiqullah Sikder passed away on August 23, 2026, while undergoing treatment at Islami Bank Hospital in the capital.