Bangladesh: Begum Khaleda Zia laid to rest following state funeral
Thousands of mourners gathered at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka on Wednesday as former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia was laid to rest following a state funeral.
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. Her namaz-e-janaza was held at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, attended by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, members of the interim government, BNP leaders, leaders of other political parties, and the chiefs of the three armed services.
Foreign dignitaries, including India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and representatives from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and other South and Southeast Asian countries, were also present to pay their final respects.
Her body was brought to the parliament complex around 11:50 am with full state protocol and placed on a temporary stage at the South Plaza around 2:45 pm. BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan read out a brief life sketch on behalf of the party. BNP Acting Chairman and her elder so,n Tarique Rahman, appealed to the gathering to pray for his mother before the funeral prayers, which were held at 3:02pm.
Following the janaza, Khaleda Zia was buried beside her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital. Large crowds had begun arriving in Dhaka from across the country since Tuesday night, braving cold weather to attend the funeral. Major roads around Manik Mia Avenue and the parliament complex remained packed as the capital witnessed scenes of nationwide mourning.
