DHAKA: Khalida Zia, the first female prime minister of Bangladesh, has passed away at the age of 80. She died after a long illness which had kept her in the hospital for several months.
Khalida Zia was the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and played an important role in the country’s politics for many years. She had been very sick with a liver disease, and doctors had said her condition was very serious in recent days.
Dr. Ziaul Haq, one of her physicians, reported that the patient was completely relying on a ventilator and was receiving dialysis treatment at regular intervals. Unfortunately, her health was not getting better. The medical experts also said that they could not give simultaneous treatments for all her diseases, considering her old age and the many health issues.
Khalida Zia was born in 1945 and ascended to the post of Prime Minister in the wake of the murder of her spouse Ziaur Rahman, who was also the President, in 1981. As time went by, she became the principal leader of the country and was at times the head of government. Her leadership style was strong and assertive; however, she had critics and was, at times, the target of criticism during her rule.
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