EAM Jaishankar to attend ex-Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia's funeral in Dhaka

EAM S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend the funeral of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in Dhaka, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

"The External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar will represent the Government and people of India at the funeral of Begum Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He will accordingly visit Dhaka on 31 December 2025," the Ministry ssaid in a statement.

Former Bangladesh prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia died at 6 am at Apollo Hospital in the capital, according to A.K.M. Wahiduzzaman, the party’s ICT Affairs Secretary and head of its Online Activists Network. The BNP Media Cell later confirmed her death through a post on its verified Facebook page.

Senior leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party said her health had worsened significantly overnight. BNP standing committee member Dr Zahid Hossain had earlier told reporters that she was passing through “an extremely critical phase.”

Party sources said her son Tarique Rahman, along with close family members including Zubaida Rahman and Zaima Rahman, visited her late on Monday night and left the hospital shortly before 2 am.

Born in 1945 in Jalpaiguri in undivided Bengal, Khaleda Zia emerged as one of the most powerful and polarising figures in Bangladesh’s post-independence politics. She served as prime minister three times and led the BNP for four decades, shaping the country’s political trajectory alongside her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina.

At the time, Zia was described as a "shy housewife" devoted to their two sons.