Modi mourns death, Jaishankar to attend funeral X
STATE TIMES NEWS
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who played a major role in restoring democracy after a period of tumultuous military rule and dominated the country’s politics for decades, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. She was 80. “My mother is no more,” Zia’s elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) acting Chairman Trique Rahman said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the funeral of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned Zia’s death, saying as the first woman premier of Bangladesh, her important contributions towards the development of the country, as well as India-Bangladesh relations, will always be remembered.
Modi also recalled his “warm meeting” with her in Dhaka in 2015. “We hope that her vision and legacy will continue to guide our partnership,” he said.
Zia was a three-time prime minister and held the position of chairperson of BNP.
Her personal physician, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, said she breathed her last early on Tuesday while receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
Zia’s family members, including her elder son Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman, and their daughter Zaima, were present at the hospital. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was also at the hospital.
Her party said she passed away at 6:00 am local time, “just after Fajr prayer”.
Zia’s funeral will be held on Wednesday after Zohr prayers at Parliament’s South Plaza and the adjoining Manik Mia Avenue, Law Advisor Asif Nazrul said.
She will later be laid to rest with full state honours beside the grave of her husband, former president and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, at Zia Udyan in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, Nazrul told reporters after a special meeting of the interim government’s Advisory Council at the state guest house Jamuna.
In a televised address to the nation, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced a three-day state mourning and a one-day general holiday.
“At the death of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, I declare three days of state mourning and a one-day general holiday tomorrow on the day of her Namaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayers),” he said.
Yunus urged people to maintain discipline and order during the funeral prayers and the observance of mourning across the country.