Bangladesh: Former PM Hasina calls 'Jail Killing Day' painful chapter in country's history

Dhaka, Nov 3 Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, marking Jail Killing Day on Monday, described it as one of the most painful and disgraceful days in the nation’s history, while commemorating the brutal assassination of four Awami League leaders inside Dhaka Central Jail.

Her statement came on the 50th anniversary of the killings of four Awami League leaders and key organisers of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971--Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, Captain M. Mansur Ali, and A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman, who were slain in custody.

“November 3 is an extremely heartrending, painful, and ignominious day in the history of Bangladesh. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu along with his family on August 15, 1975, the assassins imprisoned his political comrades. On this day, the anti-independence assassin clique brutally murdered in the secure confines of Dhaka Central Jail the lifelong political comrades of Bangabandhu and the principal leadership of the wartime provisional government—Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmad, Captain M. Mansur Ali, and A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman—in full public view,” read a statement issued by the former PM which was posted on Awami League leader Mohammad Ali Arafat’s social media platform.

Hasina stressed that the jail killing was not merely the murder of four individuals; it was part of a deep conspiracy to obliterate the spirit of the Liberation War, the ideals of an independent Bangladesh, and the democratic state system.

Through this massacre, she said, the country was rendered leaderless, the gains of the Liberation War were destroyed, and the path was opened for the defeated forces to reestablish themselves in politics.

“These four national leaders, the most trusted confidants of the Father of the Nation, dedicated their lives to realising Bangabandhu's dreams and ideals. During the Liberation War, when Bangabandhu was imprisoned in a Pakistani jail, these national leaders, from their positions of leadership in the exiled government, conducted the war, built diplomatic relations, and played an extraordinary role in creating international public opinion in favour of Bangladesh's independence. Their patriotism, integrity, honesty, and self-sacrifice will remain exemplary models for us to emulate,” the former PM added.

Extending respect to the four “martyred” leaders, Hasina reaffirmed that the Awami League would not bow to any conspiracy, falsehood, or terror.

She asserted that, inspired by Bangabandhu's ideals, the party would build a happy, prosperous, and modern Bangladesh free from poverty, inequality, and corruption—a country illuminated by the spirit of the Liberation War.

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