Eminent columnist Brig Gen (retd) M Abdul Hafiz passed away yesterday. He was 84, says a press release.

He left behind his wife Minara Hafiz, daughter Rubana and two sons, Arif and Faisal.

Hafiz was a prominent analyst of international security and national defence in the 1990s and early 2000s. He graduated from Pakistan Military Academy in 1960 and retired as a brigadier general from Bangladesh Army in 1988.

He was also director general of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies for 10 years from 1982 to 1992.

Abdul Hafiz was born in Rangpur in 1935 and raised in Bogura.