Staff Reporter:
Liberation War Affairs Adviser Farooq-e-Azam on Wednesday said fake freedom fighters will get gen-eral amnesty if they apologize, or else, action will be taken against them for fraudulence.
“There are allegations that fake freedom fighters have been included in the gazetted list and have long been enjoying benefits. This is not a small crime in any way … it’s a serious crime,” he told a press con-ference at his ministry’s conference room.
Mentioning an ongoing court case regarding the cancellation of certificates of 2,111 people who claimed to be freedom fighters, the adviser said, “Once the court decides, we will cancel these certificates and arrange for punishment.”
“If we can specify the verification process in other cases and such fake fighters listed there, similar ac-tion will be taken against them. They must be given exemplary punishment. Hopefully, we will be able to come up with an effective system in this regard very soon, the adviser said.
Farooq-e-Azam mentioned that there are many lists of freedom fighters — blue, red, Indian, and in many cases, it is seen that many people have been made freedom fighters here out of ‘passion’ or because of someone’s kinship or some other temptation. “We’ll detect, but it may take some time.”
The adviser stressed the importance of protecting the dignity of genuine freedom fighters. “We will not allow their dignity to be tarnished. Completing this task while safeguarding their legacy is a challenge, but we are determined to do.”
He said the government may allow an indemnity so that those who are not freedom fighters may step aside on their own. “If they do, they may even get a general amnesty. And if that doesn’t happen, we will accuse them of fraud, as we said.”
