‘No destruction, no revenge…’: Released ex-PM Khaleda Zia's appeal amid unrest in Bangladesh

This was her first public speech since 2018, when she was jailed in a graft case under the premiership of Sheikh Hasina, her arch-foe who was ousted on Monday.

Published on: Aug 7, 2024, 18:04:22 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, the bitterest foe and arch-rival of Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the recently ousted premier, on Wednesday appealed for peace in the unrest-hit nation.

A screengrab from Khaleda Zia's video message (The Daily Star)

“Youths are our future. We need to build a democratic Bangladesh to fulfil their dream and for which they shed their blood,” she said in a video message at a rally of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Nayapaltan, reported The Daily Star.

“No destruction, no anger, and no revenge…we need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she added from her hospital bed in what was her maiden public speech since 2018, when she was convicted in a corruption case and jailed for 17 years.

Zia, who was convicted and jailed during the premiership of Sheikh Hasina, leading to allegations of a 'political witch-hunt,' was among those released on the orders of President Mohammed Shahabuddin following the resignation and escape to India of Hasina and the collapse of her Awami League government.

Speaking further, Zia, who is the BNP chairperson, called for a ‘prosperous’ Bangladesh.

“I have been released now. I want to thank the brave people who were in a do-or-die struggle to make possible, the impossible. This victory brings us a new possibility to come back from the debris of plunder, corruption, and ill-politics. We need to reform this country as a prosperous one,” she stated.

A student-led protest against the quota system transformed into a mass movement against the Hasina regime due to its brutal crackdown on the protestors, which claimed hundreds of lives. Serving a record fifth term, she finally stepped down and fled to Delhi, where, according to her son, her stay is likely to be extended by ‘some more time.’

An interim government, led by Nobel Prize winner Mohammed Yunus will run Bangladesh for now.

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