DHAKA,  – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged lawmakers to find out how many people were killed in each jail across the country during Ziaur Rahman’s regime.

“You (MPs) should move forward to find out how many people were killed in jails, especially in Dhaka, Bogura, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Cumilla. Hundreds of people were hanged to death in each coup . . .,” she said.

The Leader of the House passed this call during her valedictory speech at the 14th session of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad.

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury chaired the sitting.

“Army officers, army soldiers, air force’s 562 officers as well as soldiers and a number of people were killed . . . still there may be many people who become mentally imbalanced due to executing the order of hanging people each night,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said Zia and his allies had accommodated killers, terrorists, militants, war criminals, rapists . . . but the irony is that the issues of human rights, knowledge and rUle of law have to be heard from them.

Mentioning that Zia introduced so-called multi-party democracy through “yes” or “no” vote in the election of 1977, she said “Actually, Zia destroyed elections and demolished people’s trust on the vote.” She also referred to the election of 1979 in Zia’s regime where he showed how to manipulate elections and vote.

She continued that in addition, he (Zia) initiated the culture of not repaying a loans taken from a bank. “He (Zia) made people corrupt giving handing money and arms over to the meritorious students and established the politics of arms in educational institutions in the country,” she added.