President Mohammed Shahabuddin spent a busy day yesterday as he visited three iconic sites of great national importance and paid tributes to the Liberation War martyrs, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Language Movement heroes.
25th march, 1971, genocide, pakistan army, Dhaka, operation searchlight,
A black veil has just showed up over the history of mankind. It was the night of March 25, 1971. The roar of tanks broke the silence of the night. Millions of people in Bangladesh, then a province of Pakistan, woke up not to the chirping of birds but to the thudding sounds of bombs and bullets. That was the kickoff of one of the biggest genocides, led by then General Yahya Khan of Pakistan, in world history.
All through the day, leaders of the Awami League waited for the telephone call General SGMM Peerzada had promised to make regarding the former’s proposals on a constitutional settlement from the regime. The call never came.
Throughout the afternoon, Pakistani army officers helicoptered across the province, signalling all army formations that they should be on standby for the imminent military operations to begin.