Millions said goodbye to the former prime minister today. BNP Chairperson and three-time former premier Begum Khaleda Zia was buried with full state honors beside her husband, the late President Ziaur Rahman, at Zia Udyan in Dhaka, following her death at Evercare Hospital. Her son, acting BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, helped lower her flag-draped coffin into the grave, casting a handful of soil in a final rite as military contingents gave a three-gun salute.
Funeral prayers led by Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Khatib Mufti Mohammad Abdul Malek were attended by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, foreign dignitaries, including India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who both delivered condolence messages to Tarique Rahman. Massive crowds filled the surrounding areas from Manik Mia Avenue to Asad Gate, with tight security managed by various law enforcement agencies. The government had declared three days of official mourning while her party observes a seven-day period, following a national outpouring of grief for the nation's first female head of government.
Funeral prayers led by Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Khatib Mufti Mohammad Abdul Malek were attended by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, foreign dignitaries, including India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who both delivered condolence messages to Tarique Rahman. Massive crowds filled the surrounding areas from Manik Mia Avenue to Asad Gate, with tight security managed by various law enforcement agencies. The government had declared three days of official mourning while her party observes a seven-day period, following a national outpouring of grief for the nation's first female head of government.
