Health minister recounts ‘humiliation’ as a Bangladesh war hero in Pakistan

He says he remained silent in “the interest of national economy” at that time

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain has said he faced humiliation for being a freedom fighter at a conference in Pakistan back in 2004.

The minister shared this experience during a discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the president's speech in parliament on Wednesday.

Hinting at the Opposition, Sakhawat said: “When you cross limits, I want to tell you ‘you are Razakars, you are al-Shams and you are al-Badr.’”

Razakars, al-Shams and al-Badr were collaborators of the Pakistani occupation forces during Liberation War.

Recounting his struggle for the country in 1971, the minister warned those “who now talk of democracy and want to link Liberation War to July Uprising, and demean the independence”.

“I want to say one thing: we are behaving decently and politely in the larger interest of the country."

Urging Jamaat-e-Islami not to create chaos over the 1971 war and 2024 uprising, Sakhawat said he had travelled to Pakistan to join a conference accompanied by a leader of the party in 2004.

“I cannot forget the situation when a Pakistani lawmaker humiliated me after knowing I was a freedom fighter,” he remembered, adding that he opted to stay calm for “the greater interest of the country’s economy”.

Addressing the Opposition, he said the government is now showing tolerance in the sake of the country. He also warned Jamaat against making “provocations”.