United News of Bangladesh

BNP Chairperson and three-time former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was laid to eternal rest with full state honour beside her husband and late President Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar’s Zia Udyan in the capital on Wednesday afternoon. She was buried around 4:30 pm, with her eldest son and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman personally placing her in the grave, following her namaz-e-janaza at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. A guard of honour was provided by the armed forces during the burial. On completion of the burial, the chiefs of the army, navy, and air force, the Home Adviser and Tarique Rahman, laid separate wreaths at the grave, paying tribute to Khaleda Zia. Later, a munajat was offered, seeking the salvation of her departed soul. Members of her family, high-ranking state officials, armed forces personnel, government authorities, and senior BNP leaders attended the burial and the munajat. Access to Zia Udyan was restricted to designated personnel during the burial, and public movement in the area remained limited until the ceremony concluded. After the namaz-e-janaza, Khaleda Zia’s body was transported from the Jatiya Sangsad complex to Zia Udyan in a national flag-draped freezer van under tight security. Her body was moved in a special vehicle around 4:25pm to rest beside her martyred husband, former President Ziaur Rahman. Near the grave, members of the army and navy carried her coffin to the burial site. During the funeral, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman, daughter Zaima Rahman, younger brother Arafat Rahman’s wife Shameela Rahman, and her daughters Jahia and Zafira Rahman, along with other family members, BNP leaders, and politicians, and the members of armed forces stood in mourning and paid their respects. Earlier, hundreds of thousands of people offered prayers as her namaz-e-janaza was held at Manik Mia Avenue, bidding her a final farewell amid waves of grief. The massive crowd stretched far beyond the parliament premises, reaching Farmgate, Karwan Bazar, Bijoy Sarani, Tejgaon, and beyond, forming an immense sea of mourners that reflected the nation’s deep respect and affection for the late leader. Renowned Islamic scholar and Baitul Mukarram Mosque Khatib Mufti Mohammad Abdul Malek led the namaz-e-janaza at 3:02pm. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, interim government advisers, BNP leaders, leaders of other political parties, and the chiefs of the three services joined the janaza. High-level foreign dignitaries, including representatives from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, as well as diplomats stationed in Dhaka, also attended the funeral programme. Around 11:50 am, a freezer-van draped in the red-and-green national flag, carrying Khaleda Zia’s body, arrived at the avenue from the Gulshan Avenue residence of her elder son, Tarique Rahman. A multi-layered security arrangement was in place around Manik Mia Avenue to maintain law and order as thousands of mourners gathered. Members of the army, police, RAB, BGB, and other law enforcement agencies remained deployed throughout the event. Rooted in Feni: The neem tree that bears Khaleda’s memory Despite the biting winter cold, people from across the country arrived in the capital early morning to attend the janaza and pay their respects. After being under medical treatment for over a month, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia passed away at Evercare Hospital at 6 am on Tuesday. Khaleda Zia led the BNP for 41 years and earned the title of the ‘uncompromising leader’ during the anti-autocracy movement of the 1990s. She served as a Member of Parliament five times -- Prime Minister three times and Leader of the Opposition twice. Starting her political journey as a homemaker, Khaleda spent much of her over four-decade political life on the streets, leading movements and facing arrests and imprisonment, but never leaving the country. She never lost an election she contested. The BNP chief had been suffering from multiple chronic illnesses, including liver and kidney complications, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and infections.