Khaleda Zia buried in Dhaka; Jaishankar meets Tarique Rahman, Pakistan Speaker

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was buried with full state honours in Dhaka on Wednesday.

With thousands of mourners and several foreign dignitaries, including India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, attending the funeral. The 80-year-old three-time Prime Minister was laid to rest beside her late husband, former President Ziaur Rahman, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, the precincts of Bangladesh’s Parliament.

Ahead of the funeral, Jaishankar met Khaleda Zia’s son and acting BNP chairman Tarique Rahman—widely seen as a potential future Prime Minister—and handed over a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The External Affairs Minister also met Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on the sidelines.

A photograph of the Jaishankar–Sadiq meeting was shared by the official social media handle of Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, though neither leader posted about the interaction.

Khaleda Zia passed away on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. Her death came just days after Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh from London following 17 years in exile, and ahead of the country’s general elections scheduled for February.

Despite the winter chill, mourners from across Dhaka gathered in large numbers to offer funeral prayers, many breaking down as they paid their final respects. The national flag-draped coffin was placed at the western end of Manik Mia Avenue. Following prayers, Zia was buried in a restricted ceremony as part of an elaborate state funeral.

Several senior South Asian leaders attended the funeral, including Nepal Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, Bhutan Foreign Minister Lyonpo DN Dhungyel, Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, and Maldives Higher Education and Labour Minister Ali Haidar Ahmed.

Jaishankar’s visit comes amid strained India–Bangladesh relations following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a long-time ally of New Delhi, and rising concerns over attacks on minorities—particularly Hindus—in Bangladesh.

The outreach is being seen as a diplomatic signal from New Delhi as ties with Dhaka remain fragile under the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, which assumed power in August 2024.

Khaleda Zia, who served as Prime Minister from 1991–96, briefly in 1996, and again from 2001–06, was often viewed as a political counterweight to Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. Her tenure was marked by closer ties with China, including in defence cooperation—moves that frequently unsettled India.