The 43rd death anniversary of BNP founder and ex-president of the country Ziaur Rahman was observed with various programmes across the country on Thursday.

Black flags were hoisted while party flags were kept at half-mast atop the party’s central offices and chairperson’s Gulshan office at 6:00 am as part of its programme to mark the day.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir together with party senior leaders paid homage to Zia by placing a wreath at his grave on the occasion.

They also participated in a milad and doa mahfil and a munjajt seeking eternal peace for the departed soul of Zia and the good health of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

The leaders and workers of BNP’s different units and associate bodies also placed wreaths at Zia’s grave on the occasion.

Apart from Fakhrul, BNP Standing Committee Members Mirza Abbas, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Vice Chairman AZM Zahid Hossain and Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were, among others, present.

Earlier in the morning, the Doctors Association of Bangladesh (DAB) arranged a free medical camp on the ground floor of the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, where specialist doctors provided the distressed patients with prescriptions and medicine free of cost.

Fakhrul and the party's standing committee members distributed cooked food among the destitute at various locations in the capital, organized by the Dhaka South and North City units of BNP.

The party and its different associate bodies chalked out a 15-day programme, including discussion meetings, seminars, photo exhibitions, wearing black badges, publishing supplements in newspapers and distributing food, to observe the death anniversary nationwide with due respect.

The observance of Zia's death anniversary programmes began on Tuesday through a discussion programme arranged by Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal, freedom fighters' wing of the party, at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).

The party organised a discussion meeting on Wednesday at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, in memory of Zia.

A milad mahfil was also arranged at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan residence seeking eternal peace for the departed soul of Zia.

BNP and its associate bodies and the party’s city, district, upazila, and municipality units also observed the day with due reverence by arranging different programmes.

Ziaur Rahman who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978 was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officers at Chittagong Circuit House on 30 May, 1981.