News Desk : dhakamirror.com
Khaleda Zia, the BNP chairperson and a three-time prime minister, has passed away. She was 80.
She breathed her last while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital around 6am today (30 December).
The news of Begum Khaleda Zia’s death was confirmed by her personal physician and BNP Standing Committee member, Professor AZM Zahid Hossain, according to a press statement signed by Shamsuddin Didar, press wing officer of the BNP chairperson.
At the time of her death, those present at the hospital included her eldest son and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, his wife Zobaida Rahman, their daughter Zaima Rahman, Khaleda Zia’s younger brother Shamim Eskander and her elder sister Selina Islam.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and members of the medical board were also in attendance.
Khaleda Zia had been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka for various health complications.
She was admitted to the hospital on November 23, and following medical examinations, doctors confirmed that she had developed a lung infection.
The veteran politician had long been suffering from multiple health conditions, including arthritis, diabetes, kidney complications and eye problems.
Earlier, she travelled to London on January 7 for advanced medical treatment and returned to Bangladesh on May 6 after receiving medical care for 117 days.
Born on August 15, 1946, in Dinajpur district, Khaleda Zia rose to national prominence following the assassination of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman, in 1981.
She later led the BNP to multiple electoral victories and served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996, briefly in 1996, and again from 2001 to 2006.
