New Delhi: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday slammed certain politicians back home who have been holding her and Awami League party responsible for the death of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia.
In an exclusive e-mail interview with IANS, Hasina said that at moments like this, Bangladesh deserves dignity, not division.
“The death of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia represents a profound loss for Bangladesh’s political life. While we stood on opposite sides of politics, her role in public life is undeniable and her contributions to the nation were significant. I extend my condolences to her family and to those who mourn her,” said Hasina.
“The claim that I am responsible for her death is categorically untrue. To politicise a death in this way reflects a troubling tendency to replace truth with accusation. At moments like this, Bangladesh deserves dignity, not division,” she added.
Khaleda Zia, a three-time Prime Minister and long-time chairperson of the BNP, died on December 30 after a prolonged illness. She was 80. The former Bangladesh PM was laid to rest with full State honours the following day.
Local media reported BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan reading out a written statement on behalf of the party in the presence of Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, Chiefs of the armed forces and leaders of various political parties in which he highlighted that Khaleda Zia was imprisoned for more than two years from February 8, 2018 in “a false case” and that her health “deteriorated severely” due to a lack of proper medical treatment.
“The nation witnessed that the leader who entered prison on foot emerged from solitary confinement gravely ill,” leading Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune quoted Nazrul Islam Khan as saying while reading the statement.
On December 30, former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina had expressed her condolences over the death of the BNP chairperson, describing her passing as a major loss to the country’s political landscape.
Extending condolences on Zia’s passing, Hasina took to Awami League’s X handle and posted, “As the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and for her role in the struggle to establish democracy, her contributions to the nation were significant and will be remembered. Her passing represents a profound loss for Bangladesh’s political life and for the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.”
She also conveyed her sympathies to Khaleda Zia’s family, including her son Tarique Rahman and to party members. “I hope that the Almighty grants them patience, strength, and comfort to endure this difficult time,” Hasina stated.
In an interview with IANS, Bangladesh’s former minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury had said that Hasina, during her tenure as PM, had made sure that Zia received the best possible healthcare.
“In fact, Khaleda Zia’s health deteriorated after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster from government. Sheikh Hasina has arranged for a state-of-the-art medical healthcare facility for Khaleda Zia in one of the top hospitals of the country, invited foreign doctors into the country to operate on Khaleda Zia, which gave her a new lease of life. One of the reasons why she had lived, despite many health challenges, is because of those life-saving surgeries which were done with the clear instruction and order of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said.
“So, Sheikh Hasina had looked after Khaleda Zia in many ways, far more than what the political rivalry that we see, that people feel that they have. She had been very humane in the way she had dealt with Khaleda Zia. She was kept at her home, not in any kind of a prison cell. She received international medical healthcare while she was at home and also in the hospital,” Chowdhury added.
(IANS)
