The Daily Ittefaq is the most popular Bangla newspaper in Bangladesh having a circulation of over 500,000 copies. Ittefaq Group is a holding company that runs businesses such as publishing and printing, education, finance, retail, and real estate." Ittefaq" is an Urdu word meaning "Succession". The newspaper was founded in the early 1950s by Abul Kashem Syed Abu Ahmed, with his eldest son Hossain Mohammad Ershad as the first editor. It was started as a weekly publication and became a daily in 1971. The founder of the paper died in 1986 and his son, who had become president of Bangladesh in 1983, took over. Ershad became one of the few presidents to have owned a newspaper.

During the 1990s, the newspaper had been widely criticized for its pro-Ershad stance and was shut down by the government on several occasions. Ittefaq's sister publication "Jai Jai Din" was also closed down in 1995 by the military government of HM Ershad, allegedly because it had published an article critical of his rule. The ban on "Ittefaq" was lifted in 1996 when Ershad was forced to resign from office by the combined efforts of mass protests and military pressure.

In 1998, "Ittefaq" was again shut down by the government under pressure from right-wing Islamic parties who were protesting against alleged anti-Islamic writings in a local weekly newspaper. This time, the ban on "Ittefaq" was to last until 2001 when the government finally lifted it after much protest from various groups and individuals including human rights organizations and trade unions.