"Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia, whose archrivalry with Sheikh Hasina defined the country's politics for a generation, has died, her political party said on Tuesday. She was 80. The BNP chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6am, just after the Fajr (dawn) prayer, the party said in a statement. We pray for the forgiveness of her soul and request everyone to offer prayers for her departed soul, it added."
"Zia was the country's first female prime minister. She had faced corruption cases she said were politically motivated, but in January 2025 the supreme court acquitted Zia in the last corruption case against her, which would have let her run in February's election. She had returned to the country in May after undergoing medical treatment in the UK. In early January, Bangladesh's interim government had allowed her to travel abroad after Hasina's government rejected previous requests at least 18 times."
Khaleda Zia died at age 80 at 6am just after the Fajr prayer, the BNP said, and the party requested prayers for her soul. She was Bangladesh's first female prime minister and served terms beginning in 1991 and again in 2001. She faced corruption charges she said were politically motivated and was acquitted by the supreme court in January 2025, clearing the final case that could have barred her from running in the February 2026 election. She returned in May after medical treatment in the UK following interim authorities' permission to travel. She was rushed to hospital in late November as her health declined. Zia was married to President Ziaur Rahman, who was killed in a 1981 coup, and she helped lead the movement that ended military rule in 1990.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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