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The BNP will hold prayer and milad mahfils across Bangladesh on Saturday to mark the birth anniversary of its late Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.
The party announced the programme at a press release issued Friday morning by its Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
According to the release, prayer and milad mahfils will be held at BNP offices or mosques across the country. In Dhaka, the programme will begin at 11am at the party’s central office in Naya Paltan.
The BNP has urged leaders and activists of the party and its affiliated organisations to observe the programme with due respect.
Khaleda Zia was born on August 15, 1946, in Jalpaiguri, then part of British India. Her family name was Khaleda Khanam, while her nickname was Putul.
Her father, Iskandar Majumder, was from Feni but lived in Jalpaiguri, where he studied, later became involved in the tea business and married.
After the partition of India in 1947, Khaleda Zia’s family settled permanently in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. She attended a missionary school before enrolling at Dinajpur Government Girls’ High School.
She married Ziaur Rahman, then a captain in the Pakistan Army, in 1960 and later moved to West Pakistan with her husband.
After independence, Ziaur Rahman founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on September 1, 1978, while serving as president. Following his assassination in a failed military coup in 1981, Khaleda Zia took charge of the BNP, despite having no previous political career.
Under her leadership, the BNP formed a seven-party alliance in 1983 and launched an anti-Ershad movement against the military-backed government. She became known among party supporters as the “Uncompromising Leader” for refusing to compromise with the Ershad regime.
Khaleda Zia died on December 30 while undergoing treatment in hospital for various health complications. She served as prime minister three times and remained BNP chairperson until her death.
The party is now led by her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, who became head of government following the 13th parliamentary election.