Did Zia fight for Pakistan or Bangladesh? questions PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (27 March) questioned whether Ziaur Rahman, former president and founder of the BNP, had fought for Bangladesh or Pakistan during the 1971 Liberation War.

"(Mirza) Aslam Beg [who was an army officer in Bangladesh at the time] wrote a letter to Ziaur Rahman during the Liberation War expressing satisfaction with his activities," she said while addressing a discussion meeting at the Awami League office in the capital's Tejgaon.

The event was organised by the Awami League on the occasion of Independence and National Day, celebrated on 26 March.

In that letter, Mirza Aslam Beg also said the wife and sons of Ziaur Rahman were fine in Dhaka Cantonment, she said.

"The question is if the person had proclaimed independence, then why did the Pakistanis take care of the wife and sons of that person in cantonment, and wrote a letter stating satisfaction over his job?" she said.

The AL chief said the war was fought in 11 sectors of the country during the Liberation War, but the sector led by Zia saw the most killings of the freedom fighters.

She said during any operation Ziaur Rahman used to keep himself in a safe place pushing the freedom fighters to the field of action which caused huge casualties as he could not take decisions based on ground reality.

"The casualties happened due to the lack of proper leadership by him [Ziaur Rahman]," she said.

She mentioned that the successful operation in any battle means attaining desired goal through fewer casualties.

"Zia could not do that, as a result Aslam Beg expressed satisfaction," she said.

General Beg served as the third Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when his predecessor, President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, died in an air crash on 17 August 1988.

Regarding the proclamation of the Independence in the early hours of 26 March, she said Bangabandhu's proclamation was relayed through wireless. But after the assassination of the Father of the Nation, the history was distorted.

"In the distorted history it was said that one major standing on a drum blew the whistle and Bangladesh got independence. A country cannot attain independence this way. If this could be done, the history of Bangladesh would have been written differently," she said.

She said nowadays BNP leaders are searching for democracy, and one BNP leader claimed that on 25 March AL leaders fled from Bangladesh. If that is true who then fought the fight and who brought the victory.

She said the elected public representatives of the 1970 elections formed the first ever government of independent Bangladesh with Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as the president and Syed Nazrul Islam the vice-president and Tajuddin Ahmed as the prime minister.

After forming this government on 17 April 1971, they took oath at Meherpur and carried out the Liberation War, she said.

She said Ziaur Rahman was a sector commander of that government as a salaried person under the Awami League government.

"They [BNP leaders] must not forget this fact. They must not forget that after independence Ziaur Rahman was promoted from Major to Major General. These ungrateful people forget that also."

Sheikh Hasina ridiculed a BNP leader's act of burning his shawl calling for a boycott of Indian goods.

She asked BNP leaders to search the Indian sarees under the possession of their wives and burn those and also stop using Indian spices in their kitchen.

The PM said people rejected the BNP for their arson terrorism and killing of people.

"Those who were rejected by people, could not win election in democratic system, now they are searching for democracy," she said