The former Attorney General of Bangladesh, AJ Mohammad Ali, died Thursday afternoon at age 73 in Singapore while receiving treatment at a hospital there. 

Ali was suffering from complications of old age, according to that nation's Daily Sun publication.

He was the 12th attorney general of Bangladesh and served from 2005 to 2007. His father MH Khandaker was the first attorney general of the nation.

Ali was also president of the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum and an advisory council member of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia prior to his death. Additionally, he was the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Ali's career

Ali became a practitioner in the High Court in 1980 and moved to the Appellate Division in 1985.

He was appointed Additional Attorney General in 2001 and became Attorney General on April 30, 2005. After less than two years in office, Ali resigned on January 24, 2007.

No reason was given for the resignation, but it happened during a time when government power was changing hands from one party to another.

"As the government has changed, it's usual that the attorney general will be changed," law adviser Mainul Hosein said at the time.

Controversy

There was some controversy around Ali's position and the rulings he made.

"He became controversial by advising the Iajuddin-led caretaker government on behalf of the BNP-led four-party alliance," Bangladesh Bar Council Vice Chairman Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud said at the time of his resignation.

Other officials also agreed with the decision by Ali to step down from his position.

"He was appointed by a political government. Now an interim government is running the country. He has taken the right decision," BNP law affairs secretary Joynal Abedin said.

Sadness over Ali's passing

Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan said he was deeply sad about Ali's passing and that he was praying for the family of the deceased. Ali is survived by his wife, one daughter and one son.

Current Attorney General AM Amin Uddin also mourned Ali's death.