Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi opposition leader and former prime minister, waves at the start of a 400-kilometer protest march from Dhaka to the northern village of Dinajpur. (AP Photo/ File)
After the passing away of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman, who is the acting chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), bid her adieu in an emotional post on social media and wrote that she was “the leader of the nation and an uncompromising leader.”
Zia, 80, who was the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh, passed away on Tuesday after suffering cardiac arrest. The interim government of Bangladesh led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus announced a three-day state funeral and a general holiday on Wednesday when Zia’s funeral prayers are scheduled to be held in front of the country’s Parliament building in Dhaka.
A portrait of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is displayed on a digital screen near the hospital where she died, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AP Photo)
In the message shared on social media, Rahman said, “Khaleda Zia, has responded to the call of Almighty Allah and left us today.” While describing Zia’s political history in Bangladesh, Rahman said for many people, “she was the leader of the nation, an uncompromising leader, the Mother of Democracy, the Mother of Bangladesh.”
My mother, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, has responded to the call of Almighty Allah and left us today. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (Indeed, we belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return).
Rahman said the country is mourning the loss of the guiding figure who had shaped Bangladesh’s democratic aspirations.
Recalling the country’s first woman prime minister being her mother, Rahman wrote, “To me, Khaleda Zia was a tender and loving mother who devoted her entire life to the country and its people. At home she was our truest guardian, a mother whose infinite love gave us strength in our darkest moments.”
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus mourned the passing away of Zia and issued a statement on Tuesday citing the BNP leader’s contributions to the country. “Her role in the struggle to establish democracy, a multi-party political culture, and the rights of the people in Bangladesh will be remembered forever,” Yunus said.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also issued a statement while being in exile in India, saying Zia’s death was “an irreparable loss” for politics in Bangladesh. Hasina recalled Zia’s contributions in establishing the nation’s democracy, AP reported.
“As the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh, and for her role in the struggle to establish democracy, her contributions to the nation were significant and will be remembered. It is a profound loss for Bangladesh’s political life,” Hasina said, PTI reported.
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Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi opposition leader and former prime minister, waves at the start of a 400-kilometer protest march from Dhaka to the northern village of Dinajpur. (AP Photo/ File) 
