Bangladesh’s former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who many believed would sweep elections next year to lead her country once again, died on Tuesday aged 80, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party said.
“The BNP Chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6:00 am (0000 GMT), just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer,” the party said in a statement. “We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul,” it added.
Despite years of ill-health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026 — the first vote since a mass uprising toppled her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina last year. The BNP is widely seen as a frontrunner. But in late November she was rushed to hospital, where, despite the best efforts of medics, her condition declined from a raft of health issues.
Nevertheless, hours before her death, party workers had on Monday submitted nomination papers on her behalf for three constituencies for the polls. During her final days, interim leader Muhammad Yunus called for the nation to pray for Zia, calling her a “source of utmost inspiration for the nation”. BNP’s media chief Moudud Alamgir Pavel also confirmed Zia’s death. Zia was jailed for corruption in 2018 under Hasina’s government, which also blocked her from travelling abroad for medical treatment.
She was released last year, shortly after Hasina was forced from power. There had been plans earlier this month to fly her on a special air ambulance to London, but her condition was not stable enough.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed their grief over the death of former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Khaleda Zia.
The president and prime minister, in separate posts on their X timelines, conveyed condolences to the family and the people of Bangladesh, lauding the leadership and services of late Khaleda Zia. “Her leadership and services will be remembered with respect,” President Zardari wrote.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said that late Khaleda Zia’s lifelong service to Bangladesh and its growth and development left a lasting legacy.
Recalling her as a committed friend of Pakistan, he said that the Government and the people of Pakistan stood with the people of Bangladesh in this moment of sorrow. The president and the prime minister also prayed to Allah Almighty for peace for the departed soul and strength for the people of Bangladesh to bear the loss.