Arastoo Khan resigns as Islami Bank chairman

The chairman of the board of directors at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) Arastoo Khan has stepped down from his post. The bank’s public relation officer Md Nazrul Islam confirmed the resignation on Tuesday afternoon. Prof Nazmul Hasan, a teacher of Dhaka University and an independent director of the bank, was nominated as the new chairman of the bank. According to official sources at the bank, the resignation letter of Arastoo Khan was accepted by a meeting of the board of directors on Tuesday. The board also accepted the resignation of the Chairman of Islami Bank Foundation (IBF) Syed Manjurul Islam, who was also a director of the bank. Both Arastoo Khan and Syed Manjurul Islam are former secretaries and were nominated at the board as directors by Armada Spinning Mills, one of the sponsors of the Islami Bank. Prof Nazmul Hasan was also nominated as chairman by the same sponsor Armada Spinning Mills. When contacted, Arastoo Khan said he resigned from the chairman post of IBBL on personal ground as he wants to spend more time with his family. "It was tough for me to give time to my family because of the heavy workload at the bank", he said. Arastoo Khan was made chairman of the IBBL on January 5 last year at a board meeting of the bank immediately after the removal of the then chairman Mostafa Anwar. The then managing director of the bank Abdul Mannan and vice chairman Azizul Haque were also forced to resign from the bank at the same meeting at that time.