Dhaka: BNP leaders and activists on Wednesday paid homage to their party founder and late president Ziaur Rahman, marking what they said the National Revolution and Solidarity Day.

Amid political turmoil, soldiers and civilians jointly freed then chief of army staff Ziaur Rahman from captivity in Dhaka cantonment on 7 November 1975, paving the way for Zia to come to power, reports the UNB.

BNP and its associate bodies chalked out various programmes to observe the day.

As part of the programmes, senior BNP leaders, led by party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, together with its activists placed a wreath at Zia’s grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city around 10am.

They also offered fateha there and a munajat seeking salvation of Zia’s departed soul.

BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, vice-chairmen Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Shahjahan Omar, Mohammad Shahjahan, Inam Ahmed Chowdhury, AZM Zahid Hossain, chairperson’s advisers Amanullah Aman, Zainul Abedin Farroque, Habibur Rahman Habib, joint secretaries general Mahbubuddin Khokan and Khairul Kabir Khokon were, among others, present.

Leaders and activists of different units and associate bodies of the party also laid wreaths at its founder’s grave on the occasion.

Earlier in the morning, BNP flag was hoisted at the party’s Nayapaltan central office and chairperson’s Gulshan office and other party offices across the country.

While BNP celebrates November 7 as the National Revolution and Solidarity Day, the ruling Awami League and its front organisations consider it as the day of ‘killing of freedom fighters’.