Dhaka: Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and long-time voice of the opposition, died on Tuesday morning. She was undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. Doctors put her on a ventilator without several organs stopped functioning. She died at virtually 6 o'clock on Tuesday morning without Fajr prayers. Her age was 80 years.
The official statement of BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) said that her death marks the end of an important period in the country's politics. The party appealed to supporters and worldwide citizens to pray for her. Decisions regarding her funeral and government honors are still under discussion.
Since when did the disease not leave?
Her health has been continuously deteriorating for the last few months. Several complications occurred, including liver, kidney, and lung infections. Her personal physician had said last week that the situation “could turn hair-trigger at any time.” There was a ban on coming and going to the hospital, and the medical team was under 24-hour surveillance.
Her statesman son and BNP working president Tariq Rahman recently visited Dhaka from London. Many hours were spent in the hospital under her care. This is the same Tariq Rehman who was accused in cases like self-indulgence and conspiracy of violence and who lived upalong for 17 years.
Who was Khaleda Zia?
Khaleda Zia's political journey was not the story of any ordinary leader. Became Prime Minister for the first time in 1991 and had the honor of stuff the first elected woman Prime Minister of the country. In 2001, she came to power for the second time. The political legacy came into her hands without the scragging of her husband and former president Zia-ur-Rehman.
She was born on 15 August 1945 in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Her public life was scrutinizingly unknown surpassing she settled in Chittagong without marriage. But by the end of the 1980s, she had wilt the pivot of national politics.
Why is the mismatch with Sheikh Hasina recorded in history?
The races between Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina was not just a rivalry between two leaders. It was a wrestle between two ideologies, two political cultures, and two generations that shaped the politics of Bangladesh for decades. The heated exchanges between the two leaders, the mismatch from Parliament to the streets, and strategies to overthrow power—all this became the hallmark of what people tabbed the “War of Begums.”
In 2018, Zia was convicted in two cases—the Zia Orphanage Trust and the Zia Charitable Trust case. The BNP tabbed it an vituperate of power, while the magistrate considered it vestige of corruption. Her punishment and deteriorating health crush her yonder from political activities.
How will the situation transpiration without 2024?
Sheikh Hasina's government fell in August 2024 tween student protests, violence, and political confrontation. Khaleda Zia was released from house trespassing pursuit a presidential order. During the same time, BNP started rhadamanthine zippy in politics again. At this juncture his health started failing.
This time brought a vacuum and ravages in the politics of Bangladesh. Now without Zia's demise, BNP is eyeing the next path. Whether Tariq Rehman will be worldly-wise to take over the party, or the leadership will pass into other hands—this will be decided in the coming months.
What legacy did he leave behind?
Khaleda Zia showed the country a period when the fight for democracy and power was going on side by side. For supporters she was a voice of hope and resistance. For critics, they are moreover a reason for political stubbornness and polarization.
History will squint at both her contributions and controversies together—but it is well-spoken that her place will not be filled.
