Dr Swapan Kumar Biswas, a museum keeper at the department of history and classical art, told the Dhaka Tribune: “On Tuesday, we received a letter from the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs asking the museum authorities to handover Zia’s Swadhinata Puroshkar to the ministry.
“Later today [yesterday] in the afternoon, we removed Zia’s award – a medal and a citation – from the museum and handed them over to the ministry.”
Recently, the Cabinet Committee on National Awards recommended the cancellation of late president Ziaur Rahman’s Swadhinata Puroshkar in line with a High Court order.
In its recommendation, the cabinet committee said: “Those who assumed power violating the constitution should be tried so that no one dares to commit the same in the future. But on the contrary, he [Zia] was given the award posthumously.
“From November 1975 to March 1979, the country was ruled without any active parliament. This clearly indicates autocracy.”
Zia was awarded with the Swadhinata Puroshkar in 2003, during the BNP-Jamaat alliance rule.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
