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Published : 25 Feb 2026, 01:25 PM
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said the government will implement the findings of the independent national commission that investigated the 2009 Pilkhana massacre.
He made the remarks on Wednesday after paying tribute to the victims of the tragedy at the Banani Military Graveyard in Dhaka, marking National Martyred Army Day.
The commission was formed under the interim government that took office after the 2024 mass uprising that toppled the Awami League regime. It later submitted its report, but Salahuddin said little progress had been made in acting on its recommendations.
The minister had earlier indicated that a new commission would be formed but has now backtracked.
“I had looked at [the report] briefly over the past couple of days. A few days ago, without reviewing the full report, I made some remarks. I would like to correct that today,” he said.
Salahuddin said the government would not form a new commission as a national independent inquiry body had already completed its work.
“From what I have seen at a glance, we will look at the 70 or so recommendations that have come,” he said.
According to the minister, many of the recommendations are already being implemented. The judicial cases related to the massacre are at different stages, including the appeal and appellate division, and will proceed in due course.
“These judicial processes will be done on time. And we will implement all the other recommendations step by step, God willing,” he said.
The Pilkhana killings took place on Feb 25-26, 2009, when a mutiny at the headquarters of the then Bangladesh Rifles (now Border Guard Bangladesh) in Dhaka left 74 people dead, including 57 Army officers. The incident sent shockwaves across the country and drew international attention.
Salahuddin said earlier committees formed to determine the motives behind the killings had not made their findings public.
He promised justice for the victims’ families and said steps would be taken to ensure such an incident did not happen again.
Describing the mutiny as a threat to Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty, he said it had been aimed at weakening the Army.
