UN General Assembly
2018

Following independence, Bangabandhu directed his strength to rebuilding a war-ravaged country with a ruined economy. The people had a great need for relief. Bangladesh set out on its journey as a least developed country (LDC). Yet, misfortune befell our people. Bangabandhu would lead the country for only three and a half years. He was brutally gunned down by assassins on 15 August 1975. Along with him, 18 members of my family, among them my mother Begum Fazilatunnesa, three brothers, the youngest only 10 years of age, and two newly wed sisters-in-law, were also killed. My sister Sheikh Rehana and I happened to be abroad at the time and survived the mayhem. But we were barred from returning to the country. The military dictator who seized power at the time promulgated the Indemnity Ordinance, which blocked the possibility of bringing the killers to justice. We were denied the right to seek justice for the gruesome murders.