BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan has commented that Ziaur Rahman was able to create hope in the minds of the people in the 1971 Liberation War.
He said these things at a discussion program titled 'Whose Story is Our Philosophy' on the occasion of the 89th birthday of martyred President Ziaur Rahman at the Shaheed Abu Sayeed International Convention Center of PG Hospital on Saturday (January 18) evening.
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife and eminent physician Dr. Zubaida Rahman were virtually involved during this time.
He said that Ziaur Rahman was the only General under whose leadership the administration of independent Bangladesh was established in many areas during the war, including the Roumari and Chilmari regions. There were courts, civil administration, prisons, police stations, customs duties were collected there, and a portion of it was submitted to the provisional government in Kolkata.
This member of the BNP Standing Committee said, Ziaur Rahman brought the basic 5 needs of food, clothing, medicine, education, and housing in his 19 points. He dug canals with voluntary labor. He arranged for deep tube wells free of charge. He went from village to village and inspired people. He helped to grow two crops instead of one, three crops instead of two.
Nazrul Islam Khan said, he (Ziaur Rahman) was the first head of state who presented the issue of the Ganges Water Treaty to the United Nations due to India's negligence. He wanted to unite the people and make them stand up to protect the country's independence and sovereignty. He formed a village defense force of 1 crore people. Among them, 30 lakh were women.
This senior BNP leader said, Ziaur Rahman instilled hope in the minds of the people in March 1971. Then he returned to his profession, fulfilled his duties as a professional army officer. When the nation's life was again in a time of disaster on November 7, 1975, he again said, I am Major General Zia. He did not take responsibility. He was given responsibility. There was nothing that day; there was a president who was about the age of one. At a time when no one was looking for any hope, when the leaders and activists of the JSD were killing army personnel inside the cantonment, there was only one man with the ability and popularity to take on the responsibility, and that was Ziaur Rahman.