President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman have paid their tributes to the Army officers who were killed in the 2009 mutiny at the then Bangladesh Rifles (now Border Guard Bangladesh) headquarters in Pilkhana.
On Wednesday, the president and the head of the government placed wreaths at the Banani Military Graveyard.
They observed a minute of silence after laying the flowers, while members of the Armed Forces offered a formal salute.
Shahabuddin and Tarique later joined prayers seeking peace for the departed souls.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed also attended the ceremony, along with Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan and Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan. Senior military officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force were also present.
Family members and relatives of the slain officers gathered at the cemetery to pay their respects.
On Feb 25, 2009, 74 people were killed during a mutiny at the border security force’s headquarters in Pilkhana, including the force’s director general Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed, and 57 Army officers.
After the fall of the Awami League government in a mass uprising in 2024, the day was declared National Martyred Army Day in remembrance of one of the darkest chapters in Bangladesh’s history.