# Zafar Sobhan

Zafar Sobhan is a prominent Bangladeshi public intellectual, lawyer, journalist, and political analyst. He was the Editor of the Dhaka Tribunefrom 2012 until 2025, one of the major English language newspapers of Bangladesh. Sobhan became the first internationally syndicated columnist to emerge from the English-language Bangladeshi press. He is widely considered as a leading, liberal man of letters.

## Early life and education

Sobhan was born in London on 19 May 1970 to Rehman Sobhan and Salma Sobhan. The Sobhan family is related to Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the last Prime Minister of Bengal and the 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan. Sobhan's father was a member of Bangladesh's first Planning Commission and later an Adviser to the Caretaker Government led by Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed in 1990-91. His mother was the first woman barrister of Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as a Research Fellow in the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs. His uncle Farooq Sobhan was the 17th Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. His aunt is Princess Sarvath al-Hassan, a Jordanian royal and the wife of Prince Hassan bin Talal. Sobhan's education was mostly in the West. He moved to Bangladesh at the age of 10, learned Bengali, and attended the Bangladesh International Tutorial school, as well as boarding school in India. After graduating from Pomona College, he spent a year in Bangladesh teaching English literature in Scholastica before moving to Pepperdine University to study law. He also studied in the University of British Columbia before moving to New York City to work as a corporate lawyer.

## Career

Sobhan is one of the few Bangladeshi members of the New York State Bar. He was an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton. He also worked as a public school teacher in New York City. In 2003, Sobhan moved to Dhaka to lead the opinions team at The Daily Star. He became the op-ed editor of the newspaper and revived the Forum magazine, which was in publication from 2004 to 2010. He also gained journalistic experience at The Independent, Dhaka Courier and Shokaler Khobor. Sobhan became Bangladesh's first internationally syndicated columnist with articles published in many newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Economic and Political Weekly, The Guardian, Himal Southasian, Time, and Outlook among others. He was named by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. He also became a Yale World Fellow in 2009. In 2013, Sobhan became the founding editor of the Dhaka Tribune.
Sobhan has represented a new generation of eloquent, liberal minded young leaders in Bangladesh. Under his leadership, the Dhaka Tribune became the fastest growing newspaper in Bangladesh's history. While criticized for pushing pro-Awami League talking points, the Tribune emerged as a significant interlocutor among civil society by holding seminars and interviews of key stakeholders in Bangladesh's politics. The Tribune's opinion columns have also attracted international columnists, including Nobel laureates and public intellectuals from around the world, as well as diplomats, politicians, and professionals from various fields. Sobhan has cultivated a niche readership for his newspaper among the diplomatic community, civil society, youth, and the political class.

## Views

On 24 July 2024, Sobhan warned the Awami League and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that "the future is now" and that the League's hold on power was slipping away fast amid the 2024 Bangladeshi revolution. A few days later, Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on 5 August 2024. In an interview with Karan Thapar, Sobhan critiqued India's approach towards the situation in Bangladesh in light of strong Indian support for the ousted premier Sheikh Hasina.