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Bangladesh's EX-PM Khaleda Zia Passes Away
(MENAFN) Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia died Tuesday at age 80 in a Dhaka hospital following an extended battle with health complications, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced in an official statement.
Zia broke barriers as the South Asian country's inaugural female head of government, holding office from 1991 through 1996 and again between 2001 and 2006.
"I am deeply saddened and grief-stricken by her death," Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh said. He added that Zia "represented an important chapter" in the history of Bangladesh.
"Despite political differences, her long political journey dedicated to national welfare, her people-oriented leadership, and her firm resolve always showed the way," Yunus said.
Tributes poured in from regional leaders, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressing condolences over Zia's passing.
Beyond two stints as opposition leader, Zia served as first lady from 1977 to 1981. Her spouse, Ziaur Rahman, who held the position of Bangladesh's sixth president, was killed in a 1981 military assassination. A fierce political adversary of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, Zia confronted multiple graft allegations but ultimately won exoneration from the nation's Supreme Court.
Her son, Tarique Rahman, serving as BNP acting chairman, ended nearly 17 years of exile last week by returning to Dhaka. Rahman is widely viewed as a leading candidate in the upcoming February general elections.
Monday saw the National Citizen Party (NCP)—which emerged from last year's demonstrations that toppled Hasina—announce a coalition partnership with Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political force. The alliance has sparked internal divisions within the NCP, which has branded itself as a moderate, reform-focused option distinct from the BNP and Hasina's Awami League.
Bangladesh has recently experienced escalating unrest triggered by the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, a pivotal figure in the 2024 protests, who was gunned down by masked attackers in Dhaka this month.
His killing sparked nationwide demonstrations demanding justice, featuring anti-India rhetoric and violent clashes. Demonstrators torched the headquarters of two major media outlets.
Zia broke barriers as the South Asian country's inaugural female head of government, holding office from 1991 through 1996 and again between 2001 and 2006.
"I am deeply saddened and grief-stricken by her death," Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh said. He added that Zia "represented an important chapter" in the history of Bangladesh.
"Despite political differences, her long political journey dedicated to national welfare, her people-oriented leadership, and her firm resolve always showed the way," Yunus said.
Tributes poured in from regional leaders, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressing condolences over Zia's passing.
Beyond two stints as opposition leader, Zia served as first lady from 1977 to 1981. Her spouse, Ziaur Rahman, who held the position of Bangladesh's sixth president, was killed in a 1981 military assassination. A fierce political adversary of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, Zia confronted multiple graft allegations but ultimately won exoneration from the nation's Supreme Court.
Her son, Tarique Rahman, serving as BNP acting chairman, ended nearly 17 years of exile last week by returning to Dhaka. Rahman is widely viewed as a leading candidate in the upcoming February general elections.
Monday saw the National Citizen Party (NCP)—which emerged from last year's demonstrations that toppled Hasina—announce a coalition partnership with Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political force. The alliance has sparked internal divisions within the NCP, which has branded itself as a moderate, reform-focused option distinct from the BNP and Hasina's Awami League.
Bangladesh has recently experienced escalating unrest triggered by the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, a pivotal figure in the 2024 protests, who was gunned down by masked attackers in Dhaka this month.
His killing sparked nationwide demonstrations demanding justice, featuring anti-India rhetoric and violent clashes. Demonstrators torched the headquarters of two major media outlets.
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