Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin highlighted what he described as 20 historic milestones achieved by former President Ziaur Rahman, marking the BNP founder’s 45th death anniversary.
In a post on his verified Facebook account on Saturday (30 May) titled “20 Historic Milestones of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman in Bangladesh’s Transformation”, Mahdi said any one of the achievements would be enough to regard a head of state as successful.
The 20 historic milestones of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman are mentioned below:
1. The Proclaimer of Bangladesh’s Independence, whose call initiated the Great Liberation War aimed at establishing an independent Bangladesh.
2. A Sector Commander in the Liberation War, commander of Z Force, and awarded the title of Bir Uttam for extraordinary bravery.
3. The hero of the soldier-people uprising and the most successful army chief in the nation’s history.
4. The country’s first President elected through a democratic process.
5. The proponent of the noble ideology of Bangladeshi nationalism, which ensures equal rights and freedoms for people of every religion, race, opinion, path and belief, and for all Bangladeshis living in both the plains and the hills.
6. The introducer of multi-party democracy and the establisher of freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the right to dissent.
7. The architect of constitutional amendments reflecting the aspirations of the people and a bearer of Islamic values.
8. The pioneer of free-market economic policies, self-reliant economic development and landmark initiatives for the growth of the private sector.
9. The pioneer of the export-oriented garments industry and the planner of Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and specialised industrial areas across the country.
10. The pioneer of manpower exports to the Middle East and other countries, whose initiatives laid the foundation for remittances from expatriates worldwide, which remain a cornerstone of the national economy.
11. The architect of increased agricultural production, the foundation of food self-sufficiency and grassroots development.
12. The initiator of village government and local government systems.
13. The father of the historic canal excavation and tree-planting programmes.
14. The pioneer of mass education and adult education programmes, and the architect of making primary education accessible to all.
15. The founder of two separate ministries for women and youth affairs.
16. The founder of the Shishu Academy and the promoter of Notun Kuri.
17. The founder of SAARC, established to promote cooperation among South Asian countries.
18. The architect behind Bangladesh’s membership of the United Nations Security Council.
19. The architect of balanced relations with the Western world, the Middle East and the wider international community, a mediator in the Iran-Iraq War, and a member of the Al-Quds Committee for Palestinian nation-building.
20. A leader who broke away from a submissive foreign policy, taking numerous bold steps to protect national sovereignty and interests, including maintaining a strong position at the border and securing Bangladesh’s rightful share of water resources.
Mahdi concluded by saying that Zia’s political and statecraft legacy continues to be carried forward by BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, following the path previously upheld by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.
