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Former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri recounted her days in Bangladesh with Khaleda Zia as the Prime Minister.
Sikri lauded Zia's tenure as she did not let the BNP collapse. She said, "She was the Prime Minister when I was High Commissioner in Dhaka between 2003 and 2006... She was very friendly, and she never refused a meeting... I really do feel very sorry that she has passed away. She had a very difficult last few months and years, critically ill... Her son, Tarique Rehman, returned to Dhaka just four days ago, and now she has passed away. I think certainly she will be remembered as Bangladesh's first Lady Prime Minister... She didn't let the BNP collapse... In terms of politics, I think the situation has already been factored..." Begum Khaleda Zia died in the early morning on Tuesday at the age of 80, while she was undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. According to a BNP statement on Facebook, Zia died at around 6 am (local time), shortly after the Fajr prayer. "We pray for the eternal peace of her soul and ask everyone to pray for her departed soul," it added. Zia was admitted to the capital Dhaka's Evercare Hospital on November 23 with a lung infection. The former Prime Minister has been suffering from various physical ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, and kidney complications, for a long time, and earlier this month, she was sent to London for advanced medical treatment for her ailments. Following the demise of former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia on Tuesday morning, party leaders expressed their deep sorrow, calling it a "great setback" for the party and a "massive loss" for the nation. (ANI)
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