The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) held a milad and prayer gathering in Dhaka on Friday to seek eternal peace for the departed soul of its chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.
The main prayer congregation took place at Azad Mosque in Gulshan after the Asr prayer, attended by BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and senior party leaders.
Among those present were Standing Committee members Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, along with other senior leaders and party activists.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the BNP said it had instructed party units across the country to organise similar milad and prayer gatherings on Friday at suitable times and locations.
The party said leaders and supporters at all levels were encouraged to take part in the events as a mark of respect and remembrance.
Begum Khaleda Zia died on Tuesday morning at 6:00am while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, the party said. She was 80.
Her funeral prayer was held the following day in a large open area near the South Plaza of the National Parliament Building and Manik Mia Avenue, where a vast crowd gathered to pay their last respects.
On 31 December, the former prime minister was laid to rest with full state honours beside the grave of her husband, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, at the family burial site. Members of the armed forces paid a guard of honour before the burial.
Her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, along with other family members, took part in the burial rites.
Begum Khaleda Zia served as Bangladesh’s first female prime minister and held the office three times. A central figure in the country’s politics for decades, her death has prompted widespread expressions of condolence from political leaders, diplomats and members of the public.
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