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BangladeshNationalist Party-BNP
Bangladesh Nationalist Party - BNP has announced a seven-day mourning programme following the death of its Chairperson and former Prime Minister, Deshnetri Begum Khaleda Zia.
The announcement was made on Tuesday morning at an emergency press conference held at the auditorium of Evercare Hospital in the capital by BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
He said,
“Deshnetri Begum Khaleda Zia passed away today at 6:00 a.m. at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party expresses deep sorrow and grief at this heartbreaking and painful loss.”
Explaining the mourning programme, Rizvi said that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party will observe a seven-day period of mourning. Black flags will be hoisted for seven days at the central office as well as at all party offices across the country. Leaders and activists at all levels of the party will wear black badges for seven days.
Quran Khatm and prayer gatherings will be held for seven days at every party office seeking forgiveness for the departed soul of the Deshnetri. Condolence books will be opened centrally at the Chairperson’s Office in Gulshan, the Central Office in Nayapaltan, and at district-level party offices, where distinguished persons and political leaders will be able to pay their respects.
Regarding the funeral prayer and burial, he said,
“The time and place of the janaza and burial of the late Deshnetri Begum Khaleda Zia will be announced later.”
Speaking in an emotional voice, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said,
“In times of crisis and sorrow, a mother’s shadow remains over one’s head. Today, the nation seems to have been deprived of that protective shadow. When we were working outside, we always felt that a mother was there watching over everything. That belief gave us strength. Enduring unimaginable repression, even witnessing the dead body of her own child before her eyes, she remained steadfast with unbreakable mental strength solely for the sake of the country, the people, and democracy—this is beyond imagination.”
He described Begum Khaleda Zia as the undisputed leader of the restoration of democracy and an uncompromising legend in protecting citizens’ civil and personal freedoms, and prayed for the forgiveness of her soul.
At the press conference, Begum Khaleda Zia’s personal physician and BNP Standing Committee member Dr. A.Z.M. Zahid Hossain and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also spoke. Senior party leaders and members of the medical board were present.
Expressing deep grief, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said,
“Our mother of democracy, our guardian, the guardian of our nation has left us (Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilaihi Raji’un). This grief, this loss is unbearable and irreparable. This nation will never be able to recover from this loss.”
He further said,
“The leader who devoted her entire life to the rights and welfare of the people—Deshnetri Begum Khaleda Zia—is no longer among us. A huge void has been created in Bangladesh’s politics. Not only that, a profound vacuum has emerged in the democratic world and in democratic movements as well.”
