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Bangladesh's first female PM Khaleda Zia dies at 80
Khaleda Zia Death: The first female prime minister of Bangladesh had been suffering from various illnesses for a long period of time.
Khaleda Zia Death: Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, died on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said. Khaleda's doctors reportedly said that she had advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, and chest and heart problems.
"Khaleda Zia passed away at around 6:00am, just after Fajr prayer," a post on the BNP’s Facebook page said. It added, “We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul.”
ALSO READ | Khaleda Zia: Widowed by a coup, she went on to rule Bangladesh twice
Khaleda Zia’s funeral is likely to be held at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka on Wednesday, Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of the party’s standing committee, was quoted as saying by Prothom Alo.
Khaleda Zia's long health and legal problems
Notably, the former prime minister had been suffering from various illnesses for a long period of time.
Along with that, Zia was convicted in 2018 in a 2008 corruption case related to misappropriating funds meant for orphans.
The ouster of Sheikh Hasina from power led to Zia being freed from house arrest. The Awami League leader had suspended Zia’s prison sentence in 2020 due to her health, on the condition that her long time rival did not travel abroad or take part in political activities.
In January this year, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted Zia and overruled her previous 10-year prison sentence in the corruption case.
The BNP has repeatedly said the cases were driven by politics, alleging that Hasina’s government at the time went after Zia for political reasons.
Khaleda Zia was Bangladesh's first woman PM
Khaleda Zia was prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and returned to office from 2001 to 2006.
She was the country’s first woman prime minister. She is the widow of Ziaur Rahman, the former president of Bangladesh and an army commander.
Khaleda came to power through a popular vote in the 1991 national election. During her tenure, she brought back the parliamentary system of government and introduced the caretaker government system to ensure free and fair elections, The Daily Star reported.
In 2007, when an army backed caretaker government took charge, Khaleda was jailed along with several other political leaders, including Sheikh Hasina. Zia was later released and contested the 2008 parliamentary election, but her party failed to secure a victory.
She is survived by her elder son Tarique, his wife, and their daughter. Notably, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on December 25 after spending 17 years in exile.
