The government has announced to observe 25 February as National Martyred Army Day, honouring the supreme sacrifice of army officers who lost their lives in the 2009 BDR carnage in Pilkhana headquarters.

A circular was issued by the Cabinet Division on Sunday in this regard.

The government decided to include the day under the category ‘Ga’. However, the day will not be observed as a public holiday.

All ministries, divisions, and organisations have been instructed to observe the day in a befitting manner annually.

On 25 February 2009, several hundred soldiers of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), later renamed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), took arms against their officers deputed from the army at Durbar Hall during their annual gathering at the paramilitary force’s headquarters in Dhaka, leaving 74 people, including 57 army officers, killed. The mutineers surrendered the next day.