Begum is free: Who is Khaleda Zia, Sheikh Hasina’s rival, released amid Bangladesh turmoil?

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has been thrown into the spotlight after her country descended into political turmoil. Her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled Bangladesh on Monday (August 5) after over a month of deadly student protests over the quota system for government jobs.

After Hasina stepped down and left the South Asian country, President Mohammed Shahabuddin, reportedly after a meeting with Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, announced the release of the key opposition leader Zia.

The president’s press said in a statement that it was “decided unanimously to free Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia immediately”.

But who is Khaleda Zia? Why was she arrested? We explain.

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Who is Khaleda Zia?

Zia, 78, is the chairperson of the BNP, who served as Bangladesh’s prime minister multiple times.

In fact, she became Bangladesh’s first female prime minister in 1991. Zia was born in Jalpaiguri in undivided India in August 1945.

Her foray into politics happened after her husband, Lt General Ziaur Rahman, a ruthless military officer, was assassinated in 1981. Rahman, who became Bangladesh’s president in 1977, was killed in office.

He had founded the BNP in 1978.

During her first stint as Bangladesh’s PM, Zia led the country through a period of civil unrest. As she was short of a majority, the BNP leader formed the government with the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami, as per NDTV.

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She returned to power in 1996 for a second term, however, her government survived for only 12 days. She stepped down after installing a caretaker government on the demand of the opposition parties led by the Awami League, reported Deutsche Welle (DW).

Fresh elections were held in June of 1996, leading to Awami League’s Hasina being elected to power.

Zia and Hasina led the governments in Bangladesh alternatively for years. Their political rivalry “polarised” Bangladesh politics, as per Associated Press. 

Zia made a comeback in 2001 and served as the prime minister for a five-year term. She resigned in 2006 after her tenure ended and was arrested on charges of corruption and abuse of power a year later.

Her younger son Arafat was also arrested for the same offence. Zia’s other son, Tarique Rahman, was also in prison at the time. Tarique fled to the United Kingdom later, where he has has since 2008.

Zia’s arrest in 2018

Zia was jailed in 2018 for graft after being sentenced to 17 years. Her supporters had decried her arrest, saying the corruption charges were a politically motivated attempt to keep her out of power.

Asif Nazrul, a law professor at the University of Dhaka, told DW last year, “Her trial was very controversial. Even at the appeal stage, her punishment was doubled by the high court, which is very rare in Bangladesh or many other common law states.”

“She is the most popular leader in Bangladesh in terms of the constituency she won personally in the past parliamentary elections. This incumbent [Hasina] government could not have confronted her popularity except by detaining her,” Nazrul added.

In March 2020, the Hasina government allowed Zia to walk out of jail over health issues. The then Bangladeshi law and justice minister Anisul Haq said she was released on the condition that “she remains in her Dhaka residence to receive treatment and does not go abroad.”

Zia has been under house arrest since then. Over the last few months, she has been admitted to the hospital multiple times due to worsening health.

In June, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed Zia was on her “deathbed” after she was rushed to the hospital.

Accusing the Hasina government of harbouring a “personal political vendetta” against her political rival, he said at the time, “It’s our misfortune that our leader Khaleda Zia is now in critical condition on her deathbed without receiving any (necessary) medical treatment (abroad).”

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What does Zia’s release mean?

Zia’s release could be a boon for her party which has lost popularity in recent years. A power vacuum was created in the BNP after she was arrested in 2018. Her son, Tarique, who also faces corruption cases in his homeland, is the vice chairman of the party.

Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told DW in 2023 that the BNP tried to boost Tarique’s image in Bangladesh amid the absence of his mother in the political scene, perhaps for a “transition of power”.

“But it’s difficult, even in a dynastic party, to transfer leadership duties to someone based abroad and far away. Not to mention, when you have someone who has been abroad for 15 years, there will be concerns that they are out of touch with ground realities, and that’s not the perception you want people to have about the next party leader,” he pointed out.

BNP’s Alamgir became the face of the opposition on the ground. However, the leadership of the party remains with Zia’s family.

The former PM has urged people to remain calm and refrain from violence amid the current situation. Her son has also called for peace in the country.

Now that Zia is going to be free, and if she chooses to re-enter politics amid the current upheaval, the BNP could benefit. With Hasina out of the picture and widespread anger towards her Awami League, the stage is set for the opposition to make the most of it and win the public.

With inputs from agencies