'Came out of prison seriously ill': BNP leader blames Sheikh Hasina for Khaleda Zia’s death

Nazrul Islam said that Khaleda went to jail in 2018 “after being subjected to personal vengeance” from Hasina, but had stepped out “seriously ill.”

Updated on: Jan 1, 2026, 16:09:04 IST

By HT News Desk

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Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Thursday linked the deterioration of former prime minister Khaleda Zia's health to imprisonment.

The BNP leader said that Khaleda Zia (left) went to jail on February 8, 2018 “after being subjected to the personal vengeance” from Hasina (right). (REUTERS)

Nazrul, a BNP Standing Committee member, said that Hasina would not be able to evade responsibility in the death of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, The Daily Star reported.

While speaking shortly after the funeral prayers for Khaleda were completed at the Manik Mia Avenue, Nazrul said that the former PM went to jail on February 8, 2018 “after being subjected to the personal vengeance” from Hasina. “But she came out of prison seriously ill,” The Daily Star quoted Nazrul as saying.

Also Read | What Khaleda Zia meant for Bangladesh politics

Nazrul further said that the prolonged imprisonment of Khaleda, the first woman PM of Bangladesh, and the denial of proper medical treatment and the restrictions on her treatment abroad had led to her health deteriorating. This ultimately led to her death, the BNP leader added.

“According to doctors at home and abroad, her illness worsened because she was denied the opportunity to receive treatment overseas during four years of house arrest,” Nazrul said. He further added, “Hasina will never be free of responsibility for this death.”

Khaleda Zia passed away on Tuesday (December 30) at the age of 80 following a prolonged illness. Her funeral prayers were held at the Manik Mia Avenue, with huge crowds of people gathering outside Bangladesh’s national parliament building in Dhaka, the Associated Press reported.

Apart from her supporters and BNP leaders, foreign dignitaries from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal also attended her funeral. Foreign envoys and representatives rom 32 countries attended the funeral ceremony, AP reported citing local media reports.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at the former Bangladesh PM's funeral. Jaishankar handed over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's letter of condolences to BNP leader and Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman.

In the letter, PM Modi said his thoughts are with the people of Bangladesh, and that Khaleda Zia's passing leaves “an irreplaceable void”, adding that her legacy would endure.

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