Citing that war does not bring the wellbeing of mankind, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the global leaders to spend the money needed to carry out a war for the development of the world, stopping the war and arms race.

The prime minister made the call while addressing a programme marking the Sheikh Russel Day-2023 and distribution of Sheikh Russel Padak-2023 and Smart Bangladesh Padak-2023 coinciding with 60th birthday of Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sheikh Russel Jatiyo Shishu Kishore Parishad and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division jointly organized the programme at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here on Wednesday (October 18).

“We saw killing of people and children by bombing on a hospital (in Gaza by Israel) and blood-stained faces of the children yesterday. I am urging the world leaders to stop the war and arms race,” she said.

The prime minister said the war and arms race never brought welfare for the mankind except destruction and the women and children are the worst sufferers of the conflicts.

She urged the world leaders to spend the money, used in producing arms, for food, health and development of the children.

“We want peace as it gives prosperity while the war brings destruction. So, we don’t want war rather peace. We always work for establishing the peace,” she said.

She also said the world witnessed beginning of Russia-Ukraine war last year and now sees the Israeli attack on Palestine.

People and children are being killed both in the Palestine and Israel, the premier said.

In such way, she said the children are becoming orphans losing their parents and the parents are losing their children in the war.

“We know their pain as we two sisters had become orphans in 1975,” she said.

The prime minister said they had seen the dreadfulness of the war for themselves during the War of Liberation in 1971.

“I had seen by my own eyes the bodies lying down at different parts of Dhaka city,” she said.

She said she and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were in forced exile abroad six years.

“Spending time as refugee, without knowing when we could return to our country, was the most painful. So, we don’t want war rather peace” she said.

At the programme, the prime minister unveiled the cover of a book titled “Swaroner Aborone Sheikh Russel”.