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Published : 21 Nov 2025, 04:44 PM
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has attended the Armed Forces Day reception at Senakunja after a year, sitting next to interim government Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
She arrived at the venue around 4pm on Friday and was welcomed by Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral M Nazmul Hassan, and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan.
Khaleda, dressed in a lavender chiffon saree, was assisted to her seat on a wheelchair. She responded to greetings by raising her hand.
The ceremony began shortly after 4:00pm with the national anthem, followed by a speech from the chief advisor.
At the start of his speech, he congratulated members of the armed forces and paid tribute to the nation’s freedom fighters.
A short while later, Khaleda arrived at Senakunja. All eyes turned to the former prime minister as her arrival was announced.
Khaleda spoke privately with Yunus for a few minutes. They then proceed to the main venue area.
The former and current heads of state were seated next to each other, exchanging smiles and greetings during the event.
Khaleda was accompanied in the same vehicle by Syeda Sharmila Rahman, the wife of her late son, Arafat Rahman, and Nasrin Iskander, the widow of her late brother Sayeed Iskander.
BNP media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan said several senior party leaders, including Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, are also attending the event.
The reception, organised by the Chief Advisor’s Office, is being held at Senakunja inside the Dhaka Cantonment and is being broadcast live on Bangladesh Television.
The former prime minister also attended the event at Senakunja last year after a six-year hiatus. She no longer takes part in political programmes due to various health complications.
In the past year, she has appeared in public only once: on Oct 8, when she visited the grave of her husband, the late president Ziaur Rahman, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
On Nov 21, 1971, during the Liberation War, members of the Army, Navy and Air Force launched a coordinated attack against Pakistani occupation forces. Bangladesh marks the day each year as Armed Forces Day with events held throughout the day.
The reception at Senakunja is part of the day’s programme, attended by political leaders, government officials, business figures, diplomats and journalists.
The Senakunja ceremony once drew attention for political reasons.
Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, leaders of the two major parties, the Awami League and the BNP, would attend the event.
Even if the longstanding rivals did not meet elsewhere during the year, a meeting at Senakunja was a possibility.
Their last appearance together was in 2012, when they attended the Armed Forces Day event despite their standoff over the caretaker government issue. They did not speak that day.
Khaleda was then the leader of the opposition. She did not attend the Senakunja programmes again during the years of the Awami League government that followed.
