Chief justice, SC judges pay tribute to Liberation War martyrs at National Memorial

They stand in silence to honour the memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence

Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has led the judges of the Supreme Court in paying tribute to the martyrs of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar.

The head of the judiciary and fellow judges laid wreaths at the memorial at 7:05am on Tuesday, marking Victory Day, the Supreme Court said in a statement.

They then observed a moment of silence in honour of those who sacrificed their lives for the country’s independence.

Earlier, President Md Shahabuddin and Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus paid homage to the martyred freedom fighters of 1971 at the memorial.

A pre-dawn 31-gun salute heralded the Victory Day celebrations in Dhaka.

The war for independence, which began on Mar 26, 1971, at the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to end Pakistani exploitation and deprivation, culminated nine months later on Dec 16, with the surrender of the Pakistani occupation forces.

On that day, Lt Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, who led the Pakistani forces, surrendered to the joint leadership of the Mukti Bahini and the Eastern Army Command of India at the then Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka.

Bangladesh commemorates Dec 16 as Victory Day. It is one of the few countries around the world that has an occasion like Victory Day in addition to Independence Day.