BNP questions AL’s late realisation of Genocide Day

Hitting out at Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader for criticising BNP for not chalking out any programme to mark Genocide Day March 25, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday questioned the ruling party’s late realisation about the day. “It is surely a genocide day. It has long been recognised that genocide took place on March 25, 1971. We have a counter question about why Awami League realised it as a Genocide Day after such a long time,” he said while speaking to reporters after paying homage to BNP founder Ziaur Rahman at his grave to mark Independence Day. The nation on Saturday observed Genocide Day for the first time, commemorating the cowardly attack on Bangalis and the mass killing in Dhaka by Pakistani occupation forces on March 25, 1971. On March 11 this year, parliament unanimously adopted a resolution to observe March 25 as Genocide Day. At a programme on Saturday, Quader asked BNP to clear its position on the Liberation War as the party did not hold any programme to mark Genocide Day. As his attention was drawn to Obaidul’s comment, Fakhrul said their party had always observed March 25 as Genocide Day. “Since Awami League has now officially announced it as a Genocide Day, BNP will think of how to observe it,” he added.