PRESS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF BANGLADESH DHAKA

IVlost I irpent Fronr: PIO. PlD. Dhaka I'or: Barisladoot. All Missions l-'ar: t)540553 19540026 MSG: 4872021-22 I:-ruuiI: uid.lh:rku ri rttt,til.etrttt Datt': Saturdal'.21 ;\ugust 2021 u ulr: u fi r, r,nsiirillirrr.-,.,,r l..l News Brief The 17th anniversary of the August 21 grenade attack is being observed with heavy hearts today. President Md. and Prime Minister , in separate messages, paid rich tributes to the victims of the gruesome grenade attack and prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls of the marfyrs. Marking the anniversary, the ruling AL, its front and associate bodies and its left-leaning allies, and other political parties, social-cultural and professional organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes across the country, maintaining health guidelines. A discussion will be held to recall the victims of the dreadful grenade attack this morning. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will preside over the meeting from Ganabhaban here through video conferencing. The gruesome grenade attack was aiming to bankrupt the party leadership during the RNP-Jamaat alliance government. The then opposition leader and incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other front-ranking AL leaders narrowly escaped the carnage. But, 24 people including Ivy Rahman, then Women Affairs Secretary of and wife of late President were killed and over 500 others injured in the attack and many of them became crippled for life. Liberation War Affairs Minister A K M Mozammel Haque said, the successors of Ziaur Rahman and Khadaker Mushtaq were repeatedly plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Minister said this at a function on the occasion of the 47th mafirdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu and in memory of the victims of the horrific grenade affack of the 2lst August, organised by Central Committee of 'Amra Muktijudhher Shontan' yesterday. The Minister called upon the new generation including the children to camy forward the economic program of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by nurturing Bangabandhu's ideals.

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, the law enforcement agencies are making their all-out strides to resist the spread of politics of terrorism and criminalization of politics patronized by BNP in the country. The Minister said this in a statement protesting the comments of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He said afterthe assassination of Bangabandhu along with most of the family members, military ruler Ziaur Rahman grabbed the state power and established the BNP under the shadow of the military by violating Bangladesh's constitution and military laws which was completely unlawful. Whenever BNP came to power, national and international terrorist groups got their patronization, he added. Obaidul Quader said, through the August 21 grenade attacks in 2004, BNP had violated all courtesies of democratic structure with a view to completely eliminate the opposite opinion. Agriculture Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said, all the urban facilities are being extended to the rural areas during the period of the present government. The Minister made the remarks while visiting the Jhenai river erosion-affected places and dam in Tangail yesterday. Visiting the damaged areas and dams, he put emphasis on the river training and protection of the dam for the sake of crops cultivation there. Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud while talking to the repofiers after attending a food distribution programme on the occasion of the National Mourning Day at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Academy premises in the city yesterday warned that none would be allowed to make water turbid by capitalizing the Barisal incident. Replying to a question over the recent attack on the official residence of Barishal Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer, the Minister said, the incident of Barishal was unfortunate and very regretful. The position of our party is very clear. Our leader, Bangabandhu's daughter Sheikh Hasina, always takes harsher action if any party man is found involved in any misdeed, he added. Speaking at the meeting earlier Bangabandhu inspired people and as a result, the Bangalees jumped into the 1971 Liberation War risking their lives and snatched the red sun of independence. -2-

The government has made efforts at the UN for enhancing benefits of Bangladeshi peacekeepers. Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen made the remark while visiting Bangladesh Engineering Construction Unit and Bangladesh Marine Forces Unit deployed in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan Juba on Thursday. Dr Momen said, Bangladesh government has facilitated the deployment of female peacekeepers in the UN Peacekeeping Operations as well as police units in different UN missions who have earned a lot of reputation with their performances. Later, the foreign minister had interactions with the Acting Special Representatives of UN Secretary General of UNMISS, the Forces Commander of UNMISS, Mission Chief as well as the Deputy Forces Commander of UNMISS. Meanwhile, Bangladesh and South Sudan have agreed to collaborate in different areas like food security, social safety net, IT and ICT, health, medical education and vocational training. This was stated while the Foreign Minister met with his South Sudanese counterpart Beatrice Wani-Noah in Juba on Thursday.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister S M Rezaul Karim said, if the country's media is developed, the state would be beneflted. He said this while speaking at the Prime Minister's Special Financial Assistance Check Distribution for Corona (Phase II) affected journalists from Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Trust at Pirojpur yesterday. He said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken various steps for the development of media and journalists. He also said that it is more necessary to make objective news than to produce news to make someone small. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid while addressing a food distribution ceremony arranged by Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh and North-West Power Generation Company Limited on Thursday said, engineers are making outstanding contributions to the development and progress of Bangladesh and they have scope to play further in innovative works. He urged the professionals of the power sector to come forward in extending humanitarian hand to distressed people during the crisis. State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Md. Murad Hassan said, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and Ziaur Rahman were the masterminds behind the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as they had organised the killers. While speaking at a function to distribute cheques of the Prime Minister assistance among 46 joumalists who were hit hard by the ongoir,g coronavirus pandemic at Shilpakala Academy in Sherpur yesterday, he asked asked convicted senior vice- chairman of BNP Tarique Rahman to take to streets to do politics by quitting the anti-government and anti- state activities sitting in London. Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army General S M Shafiuddin Ahrned met Turkey's President of Defense lndustries Ismail Demer, and Deputy Minister of National Defence Muhsin Dere in Turkey yesterday. During the meeting, Turkey's Deputy Minister expressed his country's commitment to further cooperation, and assistance to Bangladesh in the field of military equipment as well as training of military personnel and technology exchange. Bangladesh is set to receive 781,440 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan today. A flight of All Nippon Airways left Japan's Narita International Airport with the vaccines yesterday. With this shipment, the total amount of vaccines dispatched from Japan stands at over 2.4 million. The country recorded 145 fatalities from COVID-l9 yesterday, taking the death toll to 25,023. With 5,993 fiesh cases, the tally of infections surged to 14,53,203. At the same time recovery count rose to

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