Bangladesh’s former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia died after a prolonged illness while undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s Apollo Hospital. She was 80. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said its chairperson passed away at 6 am on Tuesday.
Zia had been receiving treatment for 36 days after being admitted on November 23 with infections affecting her heart and lungs. The first female prime minister of Bangladesh had long suffered from multiple health complications, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and chronic conditions involving her kidneys, lungs, heart, and eyes.
Her care was overseen by a medical board led by cardiologist Shahabuddin Talukder, with specialists from Bangladesh, the UK, the US, China, and Australia. Earlier this month, efforts were made to transfer her abroad for advanced treatment, but the plan was abandoned due to her fragile condition.
Just 2 days ago, her personal physician confirmed that the former Prime Minister was in an "extremely critical" condition. In a Facebook post, the BNP said doctors declared the former Prime Minister dead at around 6 am today.
"Her condition had deteriorated since late Monday night. A special aircraft from Qatar had been kept on standby to airlift her to London for further treatment, but a medical board did not grant clearance for her transfer from Evercare Hospital to Dhaka airport," the post read.
Khaleda Zia's legal woes
Khaleda Zia served as prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. Zia was also convicted in 2018 in a 2008 corruption case involving the misappropriation of funds meant for orphans.
Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina from power, Zia was released from house arrest. In 2020, the Awami League leader had suspended Zia’s prison sentence on health grounds, with the condition that her long time rival would not travel abroad or take part in political activities.
In January this year, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted Zia and overturned her earlier 10 year prison sentence in the corruption case. The BNP has consistently maintained that the cases were politically motivated, alleging that Hasina’s government at the time targeted Zia for political reasons.
She was the country’s first woman prime minister and the widow of Ziaur Rahman, a former president of Bangladesh and an army commander.
Also read: Khaleda Zia dies - All about BNP chief who left a lasting mark on Bangladesh politics
