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Bangladesh Bids Farewell to Khaleda Zia With State Funeral in Dhaka

Her passing cements a leadership handover in the BNP to returning son Tarique Rahman ahead of the February vote.

Overview

  • The BNP said the three-time prime minister died at 6:00 am on December 30 at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital after months of critical illness.
  • Funeral prayers were held on December 31 at parliament’s South Plaza before burial with full state honours beside Ziaur Rahman at Zia Udyan, drawing vast crowds.
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus ordered three days of national mourning and a public holiday, with more than 10,000 police and army deployments securing the capital.
  • India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar attended, delivering a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as other South Asian delegations joined.
  • Her son and BNP acting chair Tarique Rahman, newly back from 17 years in exile, is viewed as the party’s standard-bearer for the February 12 parliamentary election.