Huge crowds for Khaleda funeral as Bangladesh bids farewell to ex-leader

Mourners situation Bangladesh’s parliament successful Dhaka to wage their respects to the country’s archetypal pistillate premier minister.

Vast crowds person gathered successful the Bangladeshi superior Dhaka for the authorities ceremonial of erstwhile Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, with mourners travelling from crossed the state to bid farewell to a towering governmental leader.

Footage showed immense crowds streaming successful towards the nationalist parliament gathering connected Manik Mia Avenue, wherever her coffin, draped successful the nationalist flag, was taken successful a convoy connected Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of her supporters, on with dignitaries from India and Pakistan, were expected to attend, with astir 10,000 information unit lining the streets to support order, officials said.

Khaleda, the archetypal pistillate to service arsenic premier curate successful the South Asian federation erstwhile she became premier successful 1991, died connected Tuesday aged 79, aft a prolonged illness.

Bangladesh has declared 3 days of authorities mourning, portion tributes person flowed from satellite leaders arsenic mourners farewell a person viewed arsenic a figurehead of the country’s antiauthoritarian movement.

‘An full federation is grieving’

Reporting from extracurricular parliament successful Dhaka, Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury said emotions were precocious among the immense crowds gathered for the authorities funeral.

“Many radical are weeping,” helium said.

“People were coming from each crossed the state to stitchery here. They said we person to travel … to amusement that she volition beryllium missed.”

Mourners had described her arsenic “a large person for this country”, saying she had “shown america the mode to democracy”, helium said.

“An full federation is grieving,” helium added.

One mourner, Sharmina Siraj, told the AFP quality bureau that Zia was “an inspiration”, saying it was “difficult to ideate women successful enactment positions anytime soon”.

Siraj, a 40-year-old parent of two, said stipends introduced by Zia to enactment girls’ acquisition “had a immense interaction connected the lives of our girls”.

Watching from down a barbed ligament barricade arsenic Zia’s assemblage passed by, retired authorities authoritative Minhaz Uddin told AFP that portion helium had ne'er voted for her, helium came to honour the erstwhile leader.

“I came present with my grandson, conscionable to accidental goodbye to a seasoned person whose contributions volition ever beryllium remembered,” helium said.

Mourners get to instrumentality portion successful the authorities ceremonial ceremonial successful Dhaka [Munir Uz Zaman / AFP]

‘A guiding presence’

Zia’s lad Tarique Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh connected Thursday aft 17 years successful self-imposed exile successful the UK, said successful a connection that the state was mourning “the nonaccomplishment of a guiding beingness that shaped its antiauthoritarian aspirations”.

His mother, helium said, had “endured repeated arrests, denial of aesculapian care, and relentless persecution”, but “her resilience … was unbreakable”.

Rahman, the acting president of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, “will perchance beryllium the adjacent premier minister” if his enactment wins the elections successful February, Chowdhury said.

India’s authorities said Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was owed to be the funeral, successful the astir elder sojourn by an Indian authoritative since the overthrow of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda’s large governmental rival.

Senior officials from Pakistan were besides expected to attend.

Khaleda’s assemblage volition beryllium interred successful a parkland extracurricular the parliament gathering alongside her precocious husband, Ziaur Rahman, who was assassinated successful 1981 during his clip arsenic president.