Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in her first public statement after being released from jail, has made an impassioned plea to her fellow countrymen to maintain calm.
Zia, who leads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), urged Bangladeshis to work towards building a "democratic Bangladesh where all religions are respected."
Zia’s statement came at a time when Bangladesh is reeling under complex political and social challenges following Sheikh Hasina's ouster amid the ongoing protests.
"You have been praying for my health all this while. I am able to speak to you due to the blessings of Allah. We have been able to get independence from this fascist government. I pay my obeisance to the brave ones who gave their lives," Zia said in a video message in Bangla. "We have to form a new Bangladesh from this victory where the youth and students will be our hope," she said.
She added, “I vow to uphold democracy, not revenge politics."
After Hasina resigned as the country's Prime Minister, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of Khaleda Zia.
In 2018, Zia was sentenced to 17 years in prison on alleged corruption charges. BNP leader Zia had served as Bangladesh's Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006.
India's relations with Zia's government had strained after she refused to crack down on the extremist group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
Who is Khaleda Zia? She was born on August 15, 1945, and was married to former military general and President Ziaur Rahman, who founded BNP, sharing two sons with him. Ziaur Rahman's rise to leadership began with founding father and first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's assassination and ended with his own assassination in 1981.
She has been sescribed as shy and devoted to raising her two sons, Zia formally entered politics after her husband's death and took over the leadership of the BNP.
