Farewell to Khaleda Zia: Honoring a Political Trailblazer

The funeral prayer for Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia is scheduled for Wednesday at 2 pm on Manik Mia Avenue. After the ceremony, she will be buried with state honors beside her husband. Traffic in Dhaka will be restricted, and foreign dignitaries will attend the proceedings.

Bangladesh is set to bid a final farewell to Khaleda Zia, the nation's former prime minister and long-time leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with funeral prayers scheduled for Wednesday at 2 pm. The ceremony will take place at the west end of Manik Mia Avenue, according to an announcement from the Chief Advisor's Press Wing Tuesday evening.

The solemn proceedings will see Zia interred with state honors beside her husband, the slain president and revered freedom fighter Ziaur Rahman, at approximately 3:30 pm. The funeral will occupy both the inner and outer grounds of the Parliament and the complete length of Manik Mia Avenue, causing traffic restrictions throughout the area, as stated by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

In attendance will be high-profile international figures, including Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Their presence marks the significant impact Zia had on regional politics. The 80-year-old former leader passed away in Dhaka following a long illness.