A Vision for Bangladesh's Future: What Khaleda Zia Said After Release?

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is in action as soon as she came out of jail. She has given a congratulatory message to the people from the hospital bed after her release. She said that the country has become "free" due to the efforts of "our brave children". Khaleda Zia also thanked those "who prayed for her health and freedom."

Khaleda Zia served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996 and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first woman Prime Minister of Bangladesh and the second woman Prime Minister in the Muslim world after Benazir Bhutto.

She is the wife of former Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman. She has been the President and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 1984, which was founded by her husband in 1978.

Khaleda Zia said in a video posted on social media, "This victory has given us a new beginning. We have to build a new country, a prosperous Bangladesh, from the rubble of a long-standing democracy and a pile of corruption. Students and youth, are our future. We will realize the dreams for which they shed their blood."

She further said, "I want to give my heartfelt thanks to our brave children who fought till death to make the impossible possible. I pay tribute to hundreds of martyrs."

Khaleda Zia, the head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and a two-time prime minister, was ordered to be released by President Mohammad Shahabuddin just hours after Sheikh Hasina was removed from office. Zia was convicted of corruption in 2018 and sentenced to 17 years in prison. This made her ineligible to contest elections that year. Due to poor health, she remained in hospital for most of this period.