Bangladesh’s ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia returned to the country from London on Tuesday morning after four months of medical treatment, adding to pressure for its interim leaders to hold elections.
The South Asian country has been under a government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led mass uprising in August last year.
Zia, Hasina’s arch-rival, and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party have been pushing Yunus’ government to hold a national election in December to return the country to democratic rule. It has said the next election will be held in either December or by June next year, depending on the extent of reforms in various sectors.
Known as the "banker to the poor", Yunus helped lift millions from poverty by providing tiny loans but faced persecution by the Sheikh Hasina government in recent years.
Crowds gathered outside Dhaka’s main airport to welcome Zia.
Accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, Zia arrived on a special air ambulance arranged by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who also arranged her transport to London in January. Zia suffers from various serious health conditions, and she has not attended any public gatherings for many years. Her elder son, Tarique Rahman, leads the party as acting chief from exile in London.
Zia’s physical presence in the country has huge symbolic value for her party while Hasina is in exile in India. Zia and Hasina have alternately ruled the country as prime ministers since 1991 when the country returned to a democracy after the ouster of authoritarian President H.M. Ershad.
