Bangladesh missions abroad yesterday celebrated the 48th Victory Day paying homage to the 1971 Liberation War martyrs and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangladesh was born as an independent country on December 16 in 1971 after the Pakistani occupation forces surrendered after a nine-month bloody war. The new nation emerged through the sacrifice of three million freedom-loving Bangalees and the honour of 200,000 women.

The missions celebrated the day with elaborate programmes, including hoisting of the national flag, discussion meetings and cultural functions. Special prayers were offered seeking divine blessings for the martyrs of the Liberation War, Bangabandhu and his family members killed along with him on the tragic night of August 15, 1975.

Messages from President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam were read out by heads and officials of the missions, according to messages received here.

Discussants fondly remembered the supreme sacrifices the freedom fighters had made at the call of Bangabandhu against the brutal Pakistani soldiers who carried out one of the history's worst genocides, killing three million unarmed civilians.

Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi gratefully recalled the support India had extended during Bangladesh's struggle for freedom and the supreme sacrifices made by Indian soldiers who fought alongside the freedom fighters.

India had also sheltered an estimated 10 million Bangalees who were forced to seek refuge in the neighbouring country.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali attended the Victory Day programme in Kolkata, according to Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.

The High Commission will organise a cultural evening on Monday marking the Victory Day.