Jaishankar Arrives in Dhaka to Pay Last Respects to Former PM Khaleda Zia

S Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday to represent the government and people of India at the funeral of Khaleda Zia, three-time former prime minister of Bangladesh and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Dr Jaishankar arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 11:30am, a senior official told UNB, describing the visit as a brief one undertaken at short notice to pay final respects to Khaleda Zia. Senior officials from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pranay Verma, India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, were present at the airport to receive him.

Indian officials said New Delhi believes Khaleda Zia’s vision and political legacy will continue to shape and guide the Bangladesh–India partnership. Her past engagements with India were recalled as part of her long political career. As leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia visited India from October 28 to November 3, 2012, at the invitation of the External Affairs Minister. Her last official visit to India as prime minister took place in March 2006, when she paid a state visit at the invitation of then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. During that visit, the two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional, and international issues.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed deep sorrow over Khaleda Zia’s death, recalling his meeting with her in Dhaka in 2015. In a condolence message, Modi said her contributions as the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh and her role in strengthening Bangladesh-India relations would always be remembered. He extended condolences to her family and the people of Bangladesh, praying for strength for them to bear the loss.

Khaleda Zia will be laid to rest beside her husband, late president Ziaur Rahman, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, following her Namaz-e-Janaza at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Wednesday afternoon.