Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this morning paid tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at his mazar in Tungipara on the occasion of his 44th martyrdom anniversary and the National Mourning Day.

After placing a wreath, the Prime Minister stood in solemn silence for some times as a mark of profound respect to the memory of the architect of independence who was killed by a cabal of disgruntled army men on August 15, 1975 along with most of his family members.

A smartly turned out contingent drawn from the three services gave a state salute on the occasion, while bugle played the last post.

Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, cabinet members, Awami League senior leaders, chiefs of the three services, senior civil and military officials were present at that time.

The prime minister then offered Fateha and munajat seeking eternal peace of the departed souls of the Father of the Nation, Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib and other martyrs of August 15, 1975 massacre.

Prayers were also offered seeking continued peace, progress and prosperity of the nation.

Later Awami League senior leaders and Sheikh Hasina, also the ruling party's President, placed another wreath at the mazar of Bangabandhu on behalf of the party.

Speaker Chaudhury and Chief Whip Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury also paid homage to the Father of the Nation by placing wreaths at his mazar separately.

Leaders of different associate bodies of Awami League also placed wreaths.

The prime minister, along with cabinet members and party leaders joined a milad and dua mahfil on the mazar premises marking the National Mourning Day, organised by the Cabinet Division and Gopalganj district administration.

Earlier, Sheikh Hasina arrived in Tungipara, the ancestral home of Bangabandhu, by a helicopter after placing wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka as part of the national programme marking the National Mourning Day.

The Prime Minister also went to the Banani graveyard and spread flower petals on the graves of the martyrs of the August 15 carnage and offered fateha and joined a munajat there.

AL advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Rashidul Alam, presidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and Muhammad Faruk Khan, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Road Transport and Bridges Minister and AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Local Government Minister Tazul Islam, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumdar, AL joint secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Deputy Minister for Water Resources Enamul Haque Shameem, Deputy Minister for Education Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, and former ministers Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, MP and Shajahan Khan, MP, among others, were present on the occasion.

Besides, PM's Security Adviser Major General (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddiq, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, PM's Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, Principal Coordinator on SDG at PMO Md Abul Kalam Azad, Inspector General of Police Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary, PMO Secretary Sajjadul Hassan, Information Secretary Abdul Malek, PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim were also present.