Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday paid profound tribute to party founder and former President Ziaur Rahman on the occasion of his 45th death anniversary.

Tarique Rahman first laid a wreath at Ziaur Rahman’s grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in his capacity as the Prime Minister of the country.

He later placed another wreath acting as the BNP Chairman, accompanied closely by members of the party’s central Standing Committee, including Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed and Prof. AZM Zahid Hossain.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formally received the Prime Minister when he arrived at the grave premises around 11 am.

A large contingent of prominent party leaders, including Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Abdus Salam, Masum Ahmed Talukder, Sardar Md. Sakhawat Husain, Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habib-e-Rashid Habib, Aminul Haque, SM Jahangir, Rafiqul Alam Majnu, Tanveer Ahmed Robin, Shirin Sultana, Sultana Ahmed, Helen Jerin Khan, Arifa Sultana Ruma, Mir Sarafat Ali Sapu, Rafiqul Islam, Safiqul Islam Khan and Rafiqul Islam Bacchu, among others, were present at the venue.

The BNP chief and senior party leaders observed a brief moment of solemn silence in memory of the party founder.

After placing the wreaths, Tarique Rahman joined a special munajat seeking eternal peace for the departed soul of his father, the late President Ziaur Rahman, and his mother, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

He later took part in a doa mahfil organized by the Jatiyatabadi Ulema Dal directly on the grave premises and joined a follow-up munajat.

A massive crowd of BNP leaders and activists gathered around Zia Udyan to mark the anniversary, as the BNP and its various associate bodies are observing the day through diverse programmes across the country.

Ziaur Rahman, who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978, was assassinated by a group of Army officers at the Chattogram Circuit House on May 30, 1981, while serving as the President of the state.

The BNP strictly observes this day annually as Zia’s "Shahadat Barshiki."

As a core part of the observance, party flags were kept at half-mast and black flags were hoisted at BNP offices nationwide, including the party's central office in Nayapaltan and the chairman’s political office in Gulshan.

Following the central tribute programme, leaders and activists of Dhaka North and South city BNP, Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, Muktijoddha Dal, Sramik Dal, Krishak Dal, Mohila Dal, Doctors’ Association of Bangladesh, Association of Engineers, Bangladesh, Ulema Dal and Chhatra Dal also paid their respective homage to Ziaur Rahman.

The BNP launched its comprehensive eight-day schedule on May 25 to mark the anniversary, which includes a central discussion meeting scheduled to be held at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) auditorium on Sunday afternoon.

After paying his tributes, Tarique Rahman is scheduled to immediately begin distributing clothes and dry food items among poor and destitute people in front of Rajdhani High School on Manik Mia Avenue.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed that the BNP Chairman will physically attend food and clothes distribution programmes at 16 distinct locations under the jurisdiction of Dhaka North and South City Corporations throughout the day.