After the namaz-e-janaza at the National Eidgah Maidan, Hasina placed wreaths on the coffins and stood in solemn silence for sometime to pay her respect to the officers who were keeping peace in Sierra Leone and Liberia, two strife-torn neighbours of Benin.

Hasina's tribute coincided with a government plan to bring a separate obituary reference to the officers in the January 18 session of the Jatiya Sangsad, which the opposition is boycotting since the last budget session.

After placing the bouquets, Hasina, also president of the main opposition Awami League (AL), offered a munajat, praying for the eternal peace of the departed souls.

She also consoled the bereaved family members. Senior AL leaders were present.

After the janaza, the officers' bodies were kept at the Eidgah to enable people to pay their last respect to the peacekeepers.

AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil at a briefing in the city yesterday bitterly criticised the ruling coalition for not making any official arrangement for the leader of the opposition to pay homage to the army officers either at the airport or at any other convenient place.

"We wrote two letters to the Army Headquarters expressing Hasina's desire to pay respect to the 15 army officers, but they did not respond to our requests," Jalil said.

He said the government undermined Hasina's privilege as the leader of the opposition.

"Such a behaviour also looks down upon the honour of the opposition leader as well as the Jatiya Sangsad."

The AL leader also took a swipe at Prime Minister Khaleda Zia for making the high-profile 45-minute delay at the airport in receiving the officers' bodies on Wednesday.

He also questioned the receipt of the bodies by Khaleda, adding: "As the supreme commander of the armed forces the president should have received the bodies."

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Moudud Ahmed said the ruling coalition was planning to bring the separate obituary reference in the Jatiya Sangsad.

He said the final decision on the reference would be taken on the premier's return from the Saarc summit in Islamabad.

As the AL is boycotting the House, the party lawmakers are likely to miss the chance to pay respect to the army officers in parliament.

On attending discussion on the probable obituary reference, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid said: "We're boycotting parliament as the government did not oblige to our preconditions. So how can we take part in the discussion on the obituary reference?"