Dhaka, Dec 31 . As Dhaka prepared to bid farewell to one of country’s most prominent political figures, External Affairs minister S Jaishankar met Tarique Rahman, the son of former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, and personally handed over a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, conveying India’s sympathies to the grieving family.
Jaishankar was in Bangladesh’s capital to attend Zia’s funeral, following her death early Tuesday morning.
The three-time former prime minister and long-serving chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party had passed away at around 6 am at Evercare Hospital after a prolonged, age-related illness.
Her death marked the end of a long and influential chapter in Bangladesh’s political history. After funeral prayers concluded on Wednesday, the body of former Begum Khaleda Zia, draped in the national flag, was moved under heavy security towards Zia Udyan in Dhaka. She will be laid to rest beside her husband, Gen Zia- Ur Rahman, who had taken charge of the country sometime after Sheikh Mujib’s assassination. Large crowds could be seen lining the route of the cortege as it passed solemnly through the streets.
People had started assembling around 7 am, with leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) streaming in from city as well as from districts including Feni, Brahmanbaria, Mymensingh, Cumilla, Gazipur, Munshiganj and Narayanganj, where the party is strong.
Supporters, party workers and well-wishers gathered in solemn silence to pay their final respects to a leader who was part and parcel of Bangladesh’s politics for more than three decades. Begum Khaleda Zia, a polarising yet towering presence in the country’s turbulent political landscape, passed away on Tuesday morning after a prolonged illness.
Born in 1945 in Jalpaiguri, in present-day West Bengal, Begum Zia had turned 80 last August. She is survived by her sons, including Tareque Rahman, who returned from self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom on Christmas Day earlier this month.
His return coincided with preparations for the February 2026 national elections and allowed him to remain at his mother’s bedside as she battled serious infections affecting her heart and lungs. Following the funeral service at Manik Mia Avenue, Begum Khaleda Zia will be laid to rest beside her husband, the late Gen Ziaur Rahman, a founding figure of the BNP and a former head of state. . . JRC
