Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia laid to rest with full State honours

Dhaka, Dec 31 (IANS) Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia was laid to rest with full State honours on Wednesday following her funeral prayers at the South Plaza of Parliament complex in Dhaka, local media reported.

She was buried beside her husband and former president Ziaur Rahman at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on Wednesday afternoon.

The funeral ceremony was attended by Bangladesh's Chief Advisor of the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, senior national leaders from various political parties and foreign ministers, representatives and diplomats from several countries, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported.

Earlier in the day, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman urged people to offer prayers for his mother, Khaleda Zia, ahead of her funeral at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka.

Addressing a gathering near the Parliament complex ahead of the 'janaza', Rahman said anyone with a financial claim against Khaleda Zia during her lifetime should contact him, assuring that all such dues would be cleared.

"If anyone was hurt by her words or actions, I seek forgiveness on her behalf," he said, while appealing to the gathering to pray for his mother, Bangladeshi Daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

Thousands of mourners from across the country had also gathered around the National Parliament complex in the capital on Wednesday afternoon as the funeral prayers of the BNP Chairperson were held at the South Plaza.

The hearse carrying Khaleda Zia's body arrived at Manik Mia Avenue from her son Tarique Rahman's residence in Gulshan, where family members, party leaders and activists had earlier paid their last respects

According to the local media reports, 27 platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed at strategic points in Dhaka to maintain tight security.

Khaleda Zia, a three-time Prime Minister and long-time chairperson of the BNP, died early Tuesday morning after a prolonged illness. She was 80.

She had been admitted to the private hospital in Dhaka on November 23 after developing serious complications related to her heart and lungs, and remained under close medical supervision before passing away on Tuesday.

She is survived by her elder son, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman, and their daughter Zaima Rahman.

--IANS

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