United News of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday recalled a childhood memory of seeing a fresh pugmark of a Royal Bengal Tiger beside a pond in the Sundarbans during a three-day family trip with his parents and younger brother. Responding to a child’s question about his favourite childhood memory, Tarique Rahman said his father, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, once took him, his younger brother and their mother, Begum Khaleda Zia, to the Sundarbans. “We went to the Sundarbans. We got down at a place called Hiron Point, which was like a small island. There was a pond there. Local people told us that a tiger had come to the pond the previous night to drink water. There was a very fresh pugmark of the Royal Bengal Tiger in the mud beside the pond. I still remember that,” he said. The Prime Minister was answering questions from children at a special session at Bangladesh Shishu Academy marking Children’s Rights Day 2026 and the 50th anniversary of the academy. Asked what he had dreamed of becoming when he was a child, Tarique Rahman said he did not have any particular ambition at that age. “To tell you the truth, I did not really have any dream then. When I was little like you, I only thought that when I grew up, I would buy all the toys,” he said. Responding to a question about the government’s plans to ensure a bright future and quality education for children, the Prime Minister said children should be given opportunities to develop their abilities alongside their studies.