Armed forces 'pride of nation': PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has described the armed forces the "pride of the nation".

She says her government wants to see the armed forces as efficient, modern and well-equipped.

"We will do everything necessary to this end," she said at a reception at Senakunja on Friday, marking the Armed Forces Day-2014.

Hasina hoped the armed forces would contribute more to nation-building.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, the deputy speaker, chief whip, Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain, the chief election commissioner, Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad, ministers, MPs, chiefs of three forces, among others, attended the reception.

Hasina said her government was taking measures to modernise the armed forces so that it could face the challenges of the 21st century.

Members of the three forces had launched a coordinated attack on the Pakistani forces on this day in 1971, forcing the occupation army to surrender.

The prime minister said the nation always remembered the sacrifice and the valour of the armed forces in the Liberation War.

She recalled Bangladesh's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's initiatives to modernise the defence wings.

She praised the armed forces for setting an example of patriotism through their services and for playing a role in building a digital Bangladesh.

The international community has recognised the armed forces for maintaining peace, stability and security.

Bangladesh has the highest number of peacekeepers in UN peacekeeping missions.