BNP has called for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and his late brother Arafat Rahman Koko to be officially recognized as “child freedom fighters”, while also demanding that former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia be granted formal recognition as a freedom fighter for her role during the 1971 Liberation War.
The demand was raised in parliament on Wednesday by Mujibur Rahman, the BNP lawmaker from Gazipur-1, during a discussion on the motion of thanks on the President’s speech.
In his remarks, the MP said Khaleda Zia and her two sons endured nine months of captivity at the hands of Pakistani forces during the Liberation War, describing the family’s experience as a rare example of patience and patriotism. He argued that the suffering of Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko during their childhood, while imprisoned with their mother, should be acknowledged by the state.
Mujibur Rahman said the call was not political flattery but a matter of historical truth, and urged the government to confer state recognition on Khaleda Zia as a full-fledged freedom fighter and on her two sons as child freedom fighters.