President Mohammed Shahabuddin -File photo

    DHAKA, March 24, 2026 (BSS) – President Mohammed Shahabuddin has called upon all,  irrespective of religions, caste, party or opinion  to work together being imbued by patriotism to fulfill the spirit and expectations of the martyrs of the Liberation War.

    "The hope, aspiration and dream of the martyrs in the Liberation War was to build a humane, democratic and real state - where there will be no discrimination, deprivation, misrule, corruption and injustice," he said.

    In a message on the occasion of the 'Genocide Day' to be observed tomorrow, the head of the state gratefully remembered all the martyrs of the motherland, including March 25, and prayed for the eternal peace of their departed souls.

    The President said the March 25 is the most brutal and painful chapter in our national life as the entire nation was speechless and stunned by this genocide.

    On the night of this day in 1971, he said the Pakistani occupation forces carried out indiscriminate massacres on unarmed and sleeping freedom-loving countrymen in the name of 'Operation Search Light'. 

    In the middle of the night, numerous members of the Rajarbagh Police Lines and the then EPR, students, teachers, intellectuals, workers, and countless innocent people in various parts of the country, including Dhaka University, were brutally murdered, he mentioned. 

    The President said  during this time, on the night of March 25, the East Bengal Regiment in Chittagong formally revolted and resisted the genocide. 

    The Head of State said immediately after this, the declaration of independence by the then Major Zia from the Kalurghat radio station united the confused and hesitant entire nation, made it braver than ever, and inspired it to jump into armed struggle and sacrifice life. 

    “The younger generation should clearly know about this cruel barbarity of history, on the other hand, about our glorious story and heroism as a nation,” he added.

    The President said after many years, the much-desired right to vote has been re-established through a free, fair and acceptable election.

    Noting that a democratic government has been established by popular vote, he said the present government has started taking various programs and steps to build a non-discriminatory, democratic, humane and self-reliant Bangladesh.