Khaleda Zia | DD News

February 11, 2026 3:29 PM

Bangladesh election offers hope to garment sector battered by tariffs and unrest

Millions of Bangladeshi garment workers and their bosses will vote on Thursday for a new government hoping it can save the country's biggest industry, which has suffered six straight months of falling exports due to U.S. tariffs and domestic political and labour unrest. The garment sector is Bangladesh's economic lifeblood, driving 80% of exports and more than 10% of the economy, and supplies some of the world's global brands. In a country of 175 million, nearly four million workers, mostly wo...

February 11, 2026 3:27 PM

Why is Bangladesh holding a national referendum alongside its general election?

Bangladesh will hold a national referendum on Thursday together with its first parliamentary election since violent protests ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. The referendum will give people a chance to vote on reforms to state institutions. Here is a look at why the referendum is being held, and what it entails. WHY IS A REFERENDUM NEEDED? The referendum focuses on implementing the 'July Charter' drafted after the 2024 uprising to establish good governance, democracy...

February 11, 2026 12:27 PM

Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman: From exile to edge of power

Less than two months after returning from nearly two decades of self‑imposed exile in London, Tarique Rahman could win one of Bangladesh's most pivotal elections and become prime minister, leading the country as his parents once did. If opinion polls hold, Thursday's election would mark a remarkable reversal of fortune for the soft‑spoken 60-year-old, who left the country in 2008 saying he needed medical treatment after his release from detention under a military‑backed caretaker administ...

February 11, 2026 12:21 PM

Islamist leader rises from obscurity to challenge for Bangladesh’s top job

Shafiqur Rahman has long been on the margins of Bangladeshi politics, but his bearded face now appears on posters and billboards across Dhaka, urging voters to elect the country’s first Islamist‑led government in a general election on Thursday. The 67‑year‑old doctor and Jamaat‑e‑Islami party chief has risen from near obscurity to be a serious contender for prime minister, after decades of being mostly known only in Islamist circles. A Jamaat coalition is expected to put up a close...

January 1, 2026 3:59 PM

Rajnath Singh visits Bangladesh HC, offers condolences over Khaleda Zia’s demise

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday visited the High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi to express condolences over the death of Bangladesh National Party (BNP) chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Signing the condolence book, Singh conveyed deep sorrow and extended his thoughts to Khaleda Zia’s family and the people of Bangladesh. “Went to the High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi. Signed the Condolence Book expressing our profound sorrow at the passing of for...

December 30, 2025 8:49 PM

EAM Jaishankar to represent India at Khaleda Zia’s funeral

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will represent the Government and people of India at the funeral of Begum Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister of Bangladesh and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He will travel to Dhaka on Wednesday to attend the last rites, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Khaleda Zia passed away early on Tuesday at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka after a prolonged illness. She was 80. International and Indian news agencies reported that she had ...

December 30, 2025 9:11 AM

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and BNP chief, Khaleda Zia passes away at 80

Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia died early Tuesday morning after a prolonged illness at the age of 80, her party confirmed. According to a statement issued by the BNP, Khaleda Zia passed away at around 6 am at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she had been undergoing treatment for more than a month. “The BNP Chairperson and former prime minister, the national leader Begum Khaleda Zia, passed away today at 6:00 am, just ...

December 21, 2025 10:37 AM

Bangladesh leader Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman set to return from 18-year exile

After 18 years in self-imposed exile in London, the man many call the "Crown Prince" of Bangladeshi politics is finally coming home. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's acting chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia's son, 60-year-old Tarique Rahman, is set to land in Dhaka on 25th December – exactly 50 days before the country goes to the polls on 12th February. For the B.N.P., Tarique Rahman’s return is more than a homecoming. It is a lifeline. His mother, Khaleda Zia, remains in ...

November 30, 2025 5:20 PM

Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia in critical condition, exiled son says his return not in his hands

Bangladesh's former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia remains in "very critical" condition at a Dhaka hospital, her party said on Sunday, as her exiled son and acting party chief Tarique Rahman signaled uncertainty over his return. Khaleda, 80, was admitted to a private hospital on November 23 with a severe chest infection affecting her heart and lungs, doctors and senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party officials said. Her deteriorating health comes at a sensitive time for her poli...

January 15, 2025 4:16 PM

Bangladesh: Khaleda, Tarique acquitted in Zia Orphanage graft case

In Bangladesh, the supreme court on Wednesday acquitted Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman and others in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. The court headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed pronounced the verdict unanimously acquitting Khaleda, former prime Minister of Bangladesh, and others who were convicted and sentenced by the lower court in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, reports BSS. The court came up with the judgment cancelling the High Court order that extended Begum Khaleda Zia's ...