"According to the confession of one of the killers, Captain Mazed, Ziaur Rahman led the conspirators to assassinate the Father of the Nation and his family...Zia is not just a murderer, he was an agent of Pakistan,” he said. 

The ICT Minister was referring to a near-deathbed ‘confession’ earlier this year by Captain Abdul Mazed, one of the convicted killers who was executed in April after being captured while apparently visiting his family in Dhaka, from India where he had been hiding for 23 years.

A video of Mazed’s ‘confession’ has been doing the rounds recently, but at no point does he attribute any leadership role in the macabre events of August 15 to Zia.  

Millions of Bangladeshis recall gathering inspiration in 1971 from hearing a radio address by the former president and founder of the BNP, at some point during the first 36 hours or so after Bangabandhu was taken into custody by the Pakistanis on the night of March 25, and Operation Searchlight commenced.

Zia, as a major in the Pakistan army stationed in Kalughat, Chittagong, had arrested and then killed his commanding officer and taken over the base with other Bengali soldiers. 

In that radio address, he declared Bangladesh an independent country in the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It let the people yearning for freedom know that they had trained army officers on their side.

The ICT Minister made the remarks while addressing an online discussion arranged by the Department of Posts and Telecommunications on the occasion of the 45th martyrdom anniversary of Bangabandhu at the Secretariat.

He noted that the killers attempted to finish Bangladesh by killing Bangabandhu. “Killing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has only made him stronger.” 

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the growth of Bangladesh in all sectors remains very promising even during the pandemic, while other nations are struggling, the minister said. 

“We have started works to launch Bangabandhu Satellite-2, set up the third submarine cable and introduce 5G by 2023,” he added.