BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman said his mother, Khaleda Zia, devoted her life to serving people with relentless dedication. He pledged to carry forward that legacy with humility and commitment.
Tarique Rahman made these remarks in a post on his verified Facebook page at around 10am on Thursday.
He said, “My mother devoted her life to serving others, day after day, with relentless dedication. I feel the weight of that legacy, and I promise to honour it with humility and commitment. Where her journey paused, I will strive to continue her work for the people whose faith and love sustained her until her last breath.”
“In this moment of personal loss, I cannot help but remember the ones I have lost before, my dear father, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, and my brother Arafat Rahman. And yet, to be surrounded here by so many who feel like family has been a source of comfort I never expected on a day like this. Today, at a time of greatest sorrow, I feel like this whole nation is my family,” he also wrote.
Former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia passed away on Tuesday morning at Evercare Hospital in the capital. She was 80.
Her funeral prayer was held Wednesday afternoon at Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka. The avenue and surrounding areas were overwhelmed with crowds of people. A spontaneous influx of mourners spilled over from Manik Mia Avenue and the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban area onto various streets of the capital.
People from all walks of life stood in long rows along different roads of Dhaka to take part in the namaz-e-janaza (funeral prayer). After the prayers, Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, was laid to rest with state honours at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, beside the grave of her husband, former president and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman.
Here is the full text of Tarique Rahman’s Facebook post
Yesterday, with a heart full of sorrow and gratitude, I laid my beloved mother, my first teacher in life, three-time Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, to her final rest beside my father, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman. The weight of her absence is immeasurable, but your presence, the Bangladeshi people’s, has made this profound moment feel less alone.
I am deeply moved by the outpouring of love from so many friends, neighbours, well-wishers, and families who came in their millions to honour her life and legacy. Seeing you all here, standing with our family through these most difficult hours, reminded me of something very precious: that she was not only a mother to me, but in many ways a mother of this nation.
I also wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the senior dignitaries of countries from the South Asian region who came here personally, and to those countries, diplomats and partners who shared their condolences with the family and party, with their deep respect and sympathy. Your gestures of condolence have touched our hearts profoundly.
In this moment of personal loss, I cannot help but remember the ones I have lost before, my dear father, Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, and my brother Arafat Rahman. And yet, to be surrounded here by so many who feel like family has been a source of comfort I never expected on a day like this. Today, at a time of greatest sorrow, I feel like this whole nation is my family.
My mother devoted her life to serving others, day after day, with relentless dedication. I feel the weight of that legacy, and I promise to honour it with humility and commitment. Where her journey paused, I will strive to continue her work to the people whose faith and love sustained her until her last breath.
May Allah grant her eternal peace, and may we find strength in the devotion she shared with us all.
