Bangladesh's former first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, has died after a prolonged illness, her personal physician said on Tuesday.
Zia, the country’s first female prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has passed away at the age of 80, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
Her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said she breathed her last early on Tuesday while receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
Members of her family were present at the hospital at the time of her death, including her elder son Tarique Rahman; his wife Zubaida Rahman; their daughter Zaima Rahman.
The wife of her late younger son Arafat Rahman Coco, Syeda Shamila Rahman; Coco’s two daughters Jahia Rahman and Jafia Rahman; Khaleda’s younger brother Shamim Eskander and his wife Kaniz Fatema; the wife of her late brother Sayeed Eskander, Nasrin Eskander; her sister Selina Islam, among others.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was also present at the hospital.
Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital on November 23 for routine tests, during which doctors detected a chest infection and decided to keep her under observation.
Her condition worsened on November 27, prompting her transfer to the hospital’s Coronary Care Unit (CCU).
In the early hours of Tuesday, Professor Hossain, a member of the medical board overseeing her treatment, had described her state as “very critical.” Zia had been suffering from multiple complex and chronic health conditions, including liver and kidney complications, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and infection-related problems.
As her condition deteriorated, Rahman, along with other family members, rushed to the hospital. After 2am, Professor Hossain came before journalists outside the hospital and said Khaleda was going through an “extremely critical” phase.
“On behalf of her family, we are calling on the people of the country to pray to the Almighty Allah for her recovery,” he said.