Freed Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday called for restraint as the country moves to form a transitional government after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following weeks of violent protests.
In her first public address following her release from house arrest, former Prime Minister Zia urged party members and citizens to refrain from destruction and revenge, and to respect all religions and communities.
“This victory has brought us new possibilities,” she stated, adding, “We have to build a prosperous Bangladesh from the ruins of democracy and corruption. Heroic children made the impossible possible through mortal struggle. Pay respect to hundreds of martyrs who were killed during the student protests.”
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Zia, 79, delivered her speech at a rally in front of the BNP headquarters in Dhaka after more than six and a half years. She addressed the crowd via a video recorded at a hospital where she is undergoing treatment for numerous complications.
A prosperous Bangladesh should be built on the basis of human rights, social justice, and equality, she continued.
Her son, Tarique Rahman, currently in exile in the UK, also addressed the rally virtually.
Earlier, President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered Zia’s release on Monday, hours after Hasina fled the country amid widespread student protests against the public jobs quota.
In February 2018, a court sentenced Zia to five years in prison, and she was kept in an abandoned jail in Old Dhaka. In March 2020, she was released from jail on health grounds and placed under house arrest by an executive order of the government.
Zia, the chairperson of the BNP and a two-term prime minister of Bangladesh (1991-1996 and 2001-2006), has been under arrest since 2018.
