The High Court (HC) today directed the government to protect and maintain all the important historic places relating to the Liberation War of the republic. The HC also ordered the government to identify and preserve all the historic places and martyrs' killing ground across the country.

It also asked the government to form a committee with inclusion of historians, freedom fighters, anthropologists and sector commanders within the next three months to identify the important historic places at Suhrawardy Udyan.

The court also asked to set up monuments at the Suhrawardy Udyan maintaining international status so that people from home and abroad came to know about the history of Liberation War and get access to pay their homage to the martyred freedom fighters.

It also observed that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the Father of the Nation and he is the architect and symbol of the independence of the country. The court also observed that the sector commanders who have fought for the independent by staking their lives should be accorded with the Independent Award.

The HC directive came on a writ petition seeking to protect and maintain historic places related to the War of Liberation. Freedom fighters Maj Gen (Retd) KM Safiullah Bir Uttam and Prof Muntasir Mamun have jointly filed the petition earlier as public interest litigation (PIL).

They sought directions from the HC upon the government to take steps for protecting and maintaining the historic places at Suhrawardy Udyan where Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered his historic speech on March 7, 1971 and Pakistani army surrendered to the Joint Command Forces of the Mukti Bahini (freedom fighters) on December 16, 1971.

-Daily Star