Amir Khasru

Amir Khasru was a Bangladeshi journalist who spent decades reporting on diplomacy, foreign policy and politics from Dhaka. He was best known as a former Bangladesh correspondent for Voice of America, as a diplomatic correspondent for the daily Ittefaq, and as executive editor of the Weekly Budhbar. He died in Dhaka on 10 October 2026, aged 64 according to his family, while being treated at Bangladesh Medical University.

Published reports of his death gave few details of his early life, and his place of birth and education were not stated in the coverage. What the reports did make clear was the shape of his working life: a long career in Bangladesh's newspapers and broadcast media, centred on the diplomatic beat, where reporters follow the country's dealings with foreign governments, international agencies and its neighbours.

As Bangladesh correspondent for Voice of America he reported on the country for an international audience, while his diplomatic reporting for Ittefaq, one of the oldest Bengali language dailies, kept him at the centre of the domestic press. He later served as executive editor of the Weekly Budhbar. In his later years he also wrote opinion pieces for The Daily Star, where he was described as a senior journalist. His columns there ranged over Rohingya repatriation and Myanmar in 2017, and in 2021 the end of the war in Afghanistan, money laundering, and unequal global access to Covid 19 vaccines through the COVAX scheme.

Khasru had long suffered from kidney and liver complications, according to his family. A colleague, Musa Mia, said he had been admitted to the intensive care unit of the Super Specialized Hospital at Bangladesh Medical University with liver cirrhosis. He died there on the evening of Saturday 10 October 2026, with a family member saying he breathed his last at around 7pm. Some outlets, including the state news agency BSS, gave his age as 65. He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Funeral prayer arrangements were to be announced later.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman issued a message of condolence the same evening, saying that Khasru's longstanding contributions to journalism would always be remembered and that through his work with outlets including Voice of America he had played an important role in the media sector. "His death has created a void in the country's journalistic community. His writings consistently championed democracy, truth and rationale," the prime minister said. Editors of other Dhaka newspapers, including Manab Zamin, also expressed their grief.