Zia freed 11,000 jailed collaborators: Quamrul
Food Minister Quamrul Islam on Friday said Ziaur Rahman had freed 11,000 Pakistani collaborators and made an anti-Bangladesh element as the premier as part of his efforts to rehabilitate those who were opposed to the 1971 independence.
"He (Zia) had released 11,000 collaborators who were in jail . . . he allowed Ghulam Azam to return home and appointed Shah Azizur Rahman as the prime minister while his son Tarique Zia facilitated the emergence of militancy when their BNP-Jamaat alliance was in power," he told a discussion to mark November 7 as the "Freedom Fighters' Killing Day".
Quamrul alleged that being an agent of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, Zia took part in the Liberation War and revealed his real face after the August 15, 1975 assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, subsequently killing hundreds of freedom fighters ruthlessly. "Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee of '75" staged the discussion at the Awami League central office at Bangabandhu Avenue while it was chaired by its Convenor Faruk Ahmed.
The minister said Zia had awarded the killers of Bangabandhu and the Four National Leaders with diplomatic assignments abroad and killed a number of 1971 veterans like Colonel Taher and Khaled Mosharraf along with numerous freedom fighters to please Pakistan.
"Zia should be tried for that (freedom fighters killings)," said Quamrul, also the joint-general secretary of Dhaka city unit of Awami League.
He also asked fugitive Tarique Rahman to return home saying "come back home (instead of staying in London) and do your politics, if you have the courage".
Mehjabeen Khaled, MP, daughter of Liberation War time Sector Commander Khaled Mosharraf, organising secretary of Dhaka city AL Shah-e-Alam Murad and assistant-secretary of AL sub-committee MA Karim also spoke on the occasion, among others spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, the members of the forum staged a street march against the killings of soldiers and freedom fighters on November 7 in 1975.