BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has pledged to open a separate wing under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs to look after the July martyrs’ families and July warriors if the party is entrusted with governing the country.

He made the assurance while addressing a views-exchange meeting with the families of those killed and injured in the July mass uprising.

The BNP organised the event at the Krishibid Institute in the capital on Sunday (18 January) morning.

“We have decided that if BNP is able to form the next government with the support of the people, we will introduce another division under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs to ensure facilities and proper care for the families of July martyrs and the fighters,” Tarique Rahman said.

Describing those killed and injured in the July movement as freedom fighters, the BNP chairman said the struggle of 2024 was comparable to the Liberation War of 1971.

“In 1971, freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to achieve independence. In the same way, those who fought in 2024 did so to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty,” he said, adding that sovereignty gained in 1971 had been defended again in 2024.

He said the proposed new division would specifically be responsible for looking after the July martyrs’ families and fighters.

The meeting, chaired by BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, was attended by family members of the July martyrs and participants in the movement. Tarique Rahman spoke to several of them and listened to their experiences.

Referring to the prolonged anti-authoritarian movement over the past one and a half decades, Tarique Rahman said thousands of people had been subjected to enforced disappearances, killings and torture. “In the July mass uprising alone, more than 1,500 people were killed and around 30,000 were injured. Many have been permanently disabled. These killings can only be described as genocide,” he said.

He added that the courage and sacrifices of those killed and injured in the July movement forced what he termed a fascist group not only to relinquish state power but also to flee the country.

Tarique Rahman further stressed that the 2024 mass uprising was not the movement of any single party or group. “It was a mass movement of democracy-loving people deprived of their rights, regardless of party affiliation or religion,” he said.