Hyderabad: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia died early Tuesday while undergoing treatment in Dhaka, marking the end of a defining era in the country’s political history. She was 80. Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister and a three time holder of the office, had been suffering from prolonged and complex health issues.
“My mother is no more,” her elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting Chairman Tarique Rahman said. Her personal physician, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, confirmed that she breathed her last at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. She was receiving treatment there after doctors detected a chest infection during routine tests.
Zia was admitted to the hospital on November 23. However, her condition worsened on November 27, after which doctors shifted her to the Coronary Care Unit. Early Tuesday, Professor Hossain, a member of the medical board, described her condition as “very critical.” She suffered from liver and kidney complications, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and infection related problems.
BNP Officials said Khaleda Zia’s funeral prayer is expected to take place on Wednesday at Manik Mia Avenue in front of the parliament complex in Dhaka. Her family members, including Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and their daughter Zaima, were present at the hospital. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also remained there.
Khaleda Zia’s political journey spanned more than four decades. Her entry into politics came after the assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman, in a failed army coup on May 30, 1981. Before that, she was known mainly as the First Lady. However, she soon emerged as the key leader of the BNP, which her husband founded in 1978. She became the party’s chairperson in May 1984 and held the post until her death.
After the 1982 military coup led by General HM Ershad, Zia launched a movement to restore democracy. Following the fall of the Ershad regime, elections were held in February 1991. The BNP won, and Khaleda Zia became Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister and the second woman prime minister in the Muslim world after Benazir Bhutto.
She later returned to power in 1996 for a brief period and again in 2001. In 2006, she stepped down, handing over charge to a caretaker government. In 2007, authorities arrested her on corruption charges, which her party termed baseless. Despite political setbacks, her influence remained strong. A BNP leader said she never lost an election in any constituency she contested.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences, saying her contribution to Bangladesh and India Bangladesh relations would always be remembered. He recalled meeting her in Dhaka in 2015 and extended sympathies to her family and the people of Bangladesh.
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