Khaleda Zia’s Funeral Likely Tomorrow; Burial Beside Ziaur Rahman

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. File Photo: Collected

The funeral prayer (namaz-e-janaza) of BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia is expected to be held tomorrow, 31 December, according to BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed.

Plans are underway to arrange the janaza at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka. Following the funeral prayer, Khaleda Zia may be buried beside the grave of her husband, late President Ziaur Rahman, at Zia Uddan near the Parliament complex.

Khaleda Zia passed away today, 30 December, at around 6:00am while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. She was 79. Her death was confirmed by her personal physician and BNP Standing Committee member Professor AZM Zahid Hossain, according to a statement issued by BNP press officer Shamsuddin Didar.

Born on 15 August 1946, Khaleda Zia led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for decades, navigating periods of political upheaval, imprisonment, and political comebacks. She served as prime minister for three terms—1991 to 1996, briefly after February 1996, and 2001 to 2006—and is recognised as Bangladesh’s first female prime minister and the second elected female prime minister in the Muslim world