New Delhi: Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), passed away this morning at the age of 80.
The BNP confirmed in a post on its Facebook page that she died at around 6 am (local time), shortly after the Fajr prayer. She was undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka for a number of ailments.
Her death comes at a time when Bangladesh is gearing up for its long-awaited national elections, scheduled to be held on 12 February 2026, after a tumultuous few months that included the July 2024 uprising that led to ouster of Sheikh Hasina. Khaleda Zia passed away days after the return of her son and BNP leader Tarique Ahmed, who landed in Dhaka on 25 December after 17 years of self-imposed exile.
Khaleda Zia, who served twice as Bangladesh PM—first between 1991 and 1996, then again from 2001 and 2006—was admitted to Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital on 23 November with a lung infection. She had been suffering from various physical ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, and kidney complications.
With inputs from ANI