• Source:JND

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, condoled the death of BNP chairperson and Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. "Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. Our sincerest condolences to her family and all the people of Bangladesh. May the Almighty grant her family the fortitude to bear this tragic loss," read the post of Prime Minister Modi.

Zia, who served three terms as Bangladesh's prime minister, died at around 6 am local time while receiving medical treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. She was 80.

PM Modi's hails Khaleda's vision in boosting India-Bangladesh ties

Recalling her political legacy, PM Modi in his post noted that as the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia made significant contributions to the country's development and to India-Bangladesh relations, adding that her vision and legacy would continue to guide bilateral ties.

"As the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh, her important contributions towards the development of Bangladesh, as well as India-Bangladesh relations, will always be remembered. I recall my warm meeting with her in Dhaka in 2015. We hope that her vision and legacy will continue to guide our partnership. May her soul rest in peace,” Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka," PM Modi added in a lengthy post, signalling India's ties reset with Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Zia, the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh and the second in the Muslim world, dominated the country's politics for decades alongside her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina.

Who was Khaleda Zia and her links to India?

Zia was born on August 15, 1946, to Taiyaba and Iskandar Majumdar in Dinajpur district in undivided India. Her father migrated from Jalpaiguri, where the family ran a tea business, to what was East Pakistan after the partition. In 1960, she married Army Captain Ziaur Rahman, who became the president of Bangladesh.

Khaleda zia info

How was Zia's relations with India?

During Zia's first term as prime minister from 1991 to 1996, relations with India were a mix of normal diplomacy and tensions, particularly over water sharing of the Ganges and cross-border insurgencies.

ALSO READ: Khaleda Zia: Rise And Turbulent Legacy Of Bangladesh's First Female PM And Her Strained Ties With India

Her government adopted a "Look East" policy, signalling a strategic alignment with China and Islamic countries rather than India. But her second tenure saw a very low ebb in bilateral ties that largely stalled connectivity and trade expansion, while New Delhi expressed strong concern over militant groups operating from Bangladesh and cross-border infiltration.

When Khaleda Zia visited India

Zia, however, visited India twice as the Prime Minister in 1992 and 2006 and once as the opposition leader in 2012 at the invitation of the Indian government. Her 2006 state visit yielded agreements on trade and security, and her 2012 visit as the opposition leader was aimed at rebuilding BNP ties with New Delhi.

In June 2015, when PM Modi visited Dhaka, he met with Khaleda and other opposition leaders.

(With inputs from agencies)


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