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PM-MODI-TALKS-2 DHAKA
Going down on the memory lane, Sheikh Hasina said, “Today (December 17) is a special day for us. We, my mother, younger sister Sheikh Rehana, Russell, four-month old little Joy and me were under the captivity of Pakistani occupation forces. Col Ashok Tara of India, who was then major, made us free from captivity in the morning of December 17, 197.”
“Bangladesh got freed on December 16, but we got freed on December 17,” she said, adding, “On this day (December 17), I have expressed my sincere gratitude to Col Ashok Tara.”
Mentioning that she was happy to meet her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi again, particularly on this month of Victory, Sheikh Hasina said, “December evokes in all Bangladeshis the spirit of joy, freedom and celebration as we recall with deep gratitude our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman under whose dynamic leadership, we earned our great independence.”
The PM also paid deep homage to the three million martyrs who laid down their lives and more than two hundred thousand women who sacrificed their honour for Bangladesh’s independence in 1971.
MORE/AHJ/MAK/GA/1357 hrs