<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">President Mohammed Shahabuddin, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck have paid tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>They paid their homage by placing wreaths at the National Memorial in Savar this morning, marking Independence and National Day.</div><div><br></div><div>President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck first placed their wreaths at the altar of the memorial followed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.</div><div><br></div><div>After placing the wreaths, the President, the Bhutanese King and the Prime Minister stood there in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs of the Liberation War.</div><div><br></div><div>A smartly turned-out contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force presented a state salute on the occasion, while the bugles played the last post.</div><div><br></div><div>Later, flanked by senior Awami League leaders, Sheikh Hasina, also chief of the ruling party, laid another wreath at the altar of the memorial.</div><div><br></div><div>The President, the Bhutanese King and the Prime Minister also signed on the visitors book.</div><div><br></div><div>On March 26, 1971, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared Bangladesh's independence following the crackdown on unarmed Bangalees on the midnight of March 25 by the Pakistani occupation forces.</div><div><br></div><div>After the nine-month War of Liberation with the supreme sacrifices of three million people, Bangladesh achieved its independence on December 16, 1971.</div><div><br></div><div>The day is a public holiday. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>