Terming BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s death an irreplaceable loss for the people of Bangladesh, the party’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has vowed to turn this grief into strength.
Fakhrul made the remark in front of the BNP Chairperson’s political office in Gulshan, following a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
He added, “Begum Khaleda Zia worked all her life to give democracy an institutional form. The loss caused by her death is irreparable. This sorrow, this grief, is difficult for us to bear. Begum Zia left at a time when she was needed the most.”
Fakhrul then confirmed that funeral prayers for the country’s first female prime minister will be held at the National Parliament South Plaza at 2pm on Wednesday.
The prayers will be led by Mufti Maulana Abdul Malik, the Khatib of national mosque Baitul Mukarram. She will be buried with state honours at 3:30pm in Chandrima Udyan, on the north side of Parliament, next to the grave of the late president Ziaur Rahman.
The Standing Committee meeting was presided over by the party’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman. Others present at the meeting included BNP Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.
Mentioning that Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan will conduct the funeral prayers, the BNP secretary general requested leaders and activists not to create unrest on this day of mourning.
Khaleda Zia breathed her last (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un) on Tuesday at 6am while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
The government has declared a three-day state mourning from Wednesday to Friday (from 31 December to 2 January) following Khaleda Zia’s death. Wednesday (31 December) will be a public holiday across the country.
