Begum Khaleda Zia, who twice held the post of Bangladesh's prime minister and was convicted in a corruption case in 2018 was freed from house arrest, the president’s office announced Aug 6.
Soon after her release, Khaleda (76) thanked the people, who she said prayed for her health and freedom.
"It is a new beginning. We have to build a prosperous Bangladesh, out of the long-standing wreckage of democracy and corruption. The students, the youth, are our future. We will realize the dreams of those who sacrificed their lives," she said in a video message posted on social media, apparently referring to the widespread student movement.
"I sincerely thank our brave children, who defied death to make the unbelievable possible. I pay my respect to hundreds of martyrs," she added.
Khaleda’s release came a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following weeks of deadly protests by students against government job quotas which later surged into a violent movement demanding her resignation.
She and a few of her close aides including her son were convicted in 2018 on charges of grabbing some around $250,000 in foreign donations received by an orphanage trust when she was last prime minister.
Khaleda, the archrival of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to 17 years in prison. She remained in jail but was released in March 2020 as her health deteriorated.
She was put under house arrest ever since her release from jail even as she denied the charges against her.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Aug 6 announced Zia’s release from house arrest and dissolved parliament paving way for the formation of an interim government.
Khaleda had led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 1981 after her husband, then-president Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in an attempted military coup.
The announcement of Khaleda’s release came after the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman was meeting student leaders to discuss the formation of an interim government.
Despite remaining in power between 1991 and 1996 and also between 2001 to 2006, Khaleda’s terms in office were marred by corruption charges.
Meanwhile Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has said that the government is allowing some time to Sheikh Hasina to "recover" before discussing her next plans.
"Hasina requested approval to come for a brief stay in India at a very short notice. At the same time, we received a request for flight clearance from the Bangladesh authorities," Jaishankar told the Lok Sabha.
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