Khaleda among 20 recipients this year

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia is among 15 individuals and five institutions who will receive the 2026 Independence Awards, Bangladesh's highest civilian honour, in recognition of their distinguished and meritorious contributions to the nation.
The Cabinet Division announced the names of the recipients of this year's award in a media statement on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com
The media statement was signed by Humayun Kabir, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division.
Among the other recipients of this year's awards are Maj Abdul Jalil, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, and Dr Ashraf Siddiqui.
Six of the recipients this year are receiving the awards posthumously.
The late prime minister and former BNP chairperson was nominated for the Independence Award for her overall contribution to nation building, including independence, democracy and women's education, according to the statement. Maj Jalil was recognised for his role in the Liberation War, Dr Siddiqui for his contributions to literature, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury and Maherin Chowdhury for social service, Bashir Ahmed for culture and Kazi Fazlur Rahman for administration.
The other recipients of the award are Prof Zahurul Karim in science and technology, AKM Hanif (Hanif Sanket) in culture, Zobera Rahman (Linu) in sports, Saidul Haque in social service, Mohammad Abdul Baki in research and training, and Prof MA Rahim, Prof Sukomal Barua and Abdul Mukit Majumder (Mukit Majumder Babu) for environmental conservation. Five institutions have also been recognised in different categories. These are Faujdarhat Cadet College for the Liberation War, Dhaka Medical College for medicine, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) for rural development, SOS Children's Villages International in Bangladesh and Gonoshasthaya Kendra for public service.
The Independence Award is the country's highest civilian award. The government has been presenting the award every year since 1977 on the occasion of Independence Day on Mar 26.