Dhaka, Dec 30 . Begum Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s former prime minister and a controversial figure in the country’s turbulent political life for more than three decades, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
She was 80.
Her son Tareque Rahman who had gone into self imposed exile to the UK had returned on Christmas to contest elections and be at her bed side.
Her death was confirmed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which she led as chairperson. She died at 6 a.m. at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she had been undergoing treatment for the past five weeks.
Begum Zia had been admitted to the hospital on November 23 with serious infections affecting her heart and lungs, party officials said.
She was also suffering from pneumonia, and her condition had deteriorated steadily in recent days.
In a statement, the BNP said, “The BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6:00 a.m., shortly after the Fajr prayers.”
Her death marks the end of an era and is likely to aid her party in its electoral efforts as voter sympathy for the dead leader, whose husband Gen Zia Ur Rahman was a freedom fighter and former military ruler of the country, is expected to surge.
Begun Zia served twice as prime minister, first from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006, becoming the country’s first woman to hold the office through a democratic election.
Alongside her longtime rival, Sheikh Hasina, she dominated Bangladesh’s political landscape, their feud shaping the nation’s governance and street politics for decades.
Details of her funeral were still being finalised, party sources said, but services are expected to be held later on Tuesday.
. . JRC A.
