Liberation war affairs minister AKM Mozammel Haque has thrown a challenge to prove whether the tomb of Ziaur Rahman contains the remains of the former president.
At a discussion on Thursday, he claimed that a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test would prove that it is not the body of Ziaur Rahman.
"I do challenge. Carry out a DNA test. If Zia's remains are found there, I will give an undertaking and apologise to the nation," said the minister.
Fined and reprimanded by the Supreme Court for breaking oath of office with derogatory remarks about the chief justice, Mozammel Haque issued the challenge about Zia's remains while addressing the discussion on “Conspiracy to Thwart Trial: From '71 Genocide to Gulshan Killing” organised by Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee at the WVA auditorium in the capital.
The minister also said the prime minister has reserved funds to remove the Shahid Zia Shishu Park and build a liberation war memorial centre there. "Work on this will begin very soon," he added.
The government has in the recent past talked about removing the grave of former president and founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) from the area adjacent to the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) Bhaban in the capital.
The housing and public works ministry further proposed removal of the graves of seven other personalities from JS complex area, arguing that the graves disrupted the original design of JS Bhaban and its premises by American architect Louis I Kahn.