Former Home Minister and BNP Vice-Chairman Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury stated that during the night of March 25, 1971, when Pakistani forces attacked unarmed civilians, no Awami League leaders were found to lead the nation. He claimed that some leaders went underground, some fled to India, and others surrendered to the Pakistani army. Chowdhury said that at that time of despair, Major Ziaur Rahman stood up and declared independence from the Kalurghat radio station in Chattogram.

He made these remarks on Saturday, May 30, at a discussion and prayer event held at the Patuakhali District Shilpakala Academy marking the 45th martyrdom anniversary of President Ziaur Rahman. Chowdhury added that Zia founded the Jago Dal in February 1978 and later formed the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in September of the same year. He described BNP as a historic political party that survived multiple attempts to break it.

Chowdhury further said Ziaur Rahman introduced multiparty democracy, initiated the SAARC for regional cooperation, and led the country toward food self-sufficiency. He also mentioned Zia’s anti-corruption stance and his successor Tarique Rahman’s continuation of that policy.