PM Modi, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Yunus, Sheikh Hasina offer condolences
NEW DELHI / NEW YORK (TIP): Khaleda Zia, the longtime chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a three-time prime minister, died on Tuesday morning , December 30, 2025), in Dhaka after a prolonged illness. She was 80.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday , December 30, conveyed his “sincerest condolences” to the family of the late former PM of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia and recollected her contributions to the development of Bangladesh and India-Bangladesh bilateral relations.
The Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, Prof. Mohammed Yunus, said that Begum Zia was not just the leader of a political party but in fact she was an “important chapter of Bangladesh’s history’. Paying tribute to Ms. Zia who passed away at a hospital in Dhaka, Prof. Yunus said, in her demise, Bangladesh has lost a “great guardian” of the nation.
Deposed Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, during whose tenure Khaleda Zia was imprisoned, also conveyed her condolences to BNP’s Acting Chairperson Tarique Zia and said, her demise is an “irreparable loss” for the political life of Bangladesh.
PM Modi recalls meeting with Ms. Zia in 2015
“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,” said Prime Minister Modi, recollecting his meeting with Begum Zia in June 2015 when he visited Dhaka for the signing of the historic India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).
“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,” PM Modi said. Earlier the Bangladesh Nationalist Party had announced that Ms. Zia passed away at 6 a.m., on Tuesday (December 30), urging everyone to pray for the departed soul.
“Professor Yunus stated that Begum Khaleda Zia was not merely the leader of a political party; she represented an important chapter in the history of Bangladesh. Considering her contributions, her long struggle, and the deep public sentiment towards her, the government declared her a Very, Very Important Person of the State earlier this month,” a statement from the press wing of the Chief Adviser.
Mr. Yunus said Ms. Zia was responsible for enhancing education for women in the country that facilitated improving the condition of women in Bangladesh.
“In her political life, she was enormously successful. She never lost an election. From 1991 to 2001, she was elected in five different parliamentary constituencies. She contested from three constituencies and won in all the three seats,” said Prof. Yunus who gave credit to Begum Zia for allowing structural adjustments in Bangladesh’s economy in the early 1990s.
The statement from Prof. Yunus, described Begum Zia as a “unique symbol of struggle and resistance” for her role during the 16-year long tenure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when BNP boycotted the elections of 2014, 2018 and January 2024.
Ms. Zia’s last public appearance was on the Armed Forces Day November 21, 2025, an event she has been attending over the decades, as the widow of former Army Chief and President of Bangladesh General Ziaur Rahman.
This year, however, she appeared in a wheelchair while meeting Prof. Yunus and Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman.
She was admitted to the Evercare Hospital of Dhaka on November 23, following lung infection. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was released from prison hours after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, 2024.
However, Bangladesh Awami League shared the remarks of Ms. Hasina on the passing of Khaleda Zia, long considered to be her rival. “Her contribution is immense as the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh and for the establishment of democracy in Bangladesh. In her death the political life of Bangladesh and the leadership of BNP has suffered an irreparable loss,” Hasina said in her condolence message.
(Source: The Hindu)
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