MILLIONS JOIN FUNERAL AS KHALEDA ZIA LAID TO REST NEXT TO HUSBAND'S GRAVE

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Bangladesh’s top officials, diplomats and South Asian dignitaries joined millions of mourners in Dhaka on Wednesday as the nation bid a final farewell to its first female prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia.

Khaleda, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 80 after a period of illness.

Her remains were interred with state honours next to the grave of her husband, Ziaur Rahman, a decorated military officer during the 1971 liberation war who became Bangladesh’s sixth president in 1977.

Interim government Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, Khaleda's son Tarique Rahman, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, top military chiefs, National Citizen Party (NCP) leader Nahid Islam, and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman joined the funeral prayer (namaz-e-janaza) in front of the national parliament building.

The foreign dignitaries attending the funeral included Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Bhutan's Foreign Affairs Minister Lyonpo D. N. Dhungyel.

Ayaz and Jaishankar handed over condolence messages from their respective countries to Tarique Rahman. 

The Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (parliament house) area saw an unprecedented outpouring of grief as millions from across Bangladesh converged on Manik Mia Avenue amid heavy security to bid a final farewell to the leader, known as an indomitable fighter for democracy.

All major roads leading to the avenue were crowded.

Many mourners were unable to hide their grief and wept openly, according to local media reports.

The body of Khaleda was taken to the venue from her son's residence before noon in accordance with state protocol.

Born in 1945, a demure Khaleda was thrust into the country's political rough and tumble following President Ziaur's assassination in 1981 while he was on a visit to the southeastern city of Chittagong.

Khaleda, a three-time prime minister, led a democracy movement in the 1980s under President Hussain Muhammad Ershad.

She first became prime minister after the 1991 general elections.

Khaleda is survived by her son, Tarique, who returned from a 17-year exile in Britain, along with several other relatives. Her second son, Arafat Rahman, died of cardiac arrest in 2015.

The late prime minister is widely hailed as a "symbol of courage" and the "Mother of Democracy" in Bangladesh.

Yunus, the current interim government leader, said the country has "lost a great guardian" in her passing.

-- BERNAMA