Bangladesh: EAM Jaishankar To Attend Zia's Funeral In Dhaka

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend the state funeral of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia amid strained ties with the current regime in Dhaka.

The funeral is scheduled to take place on Wednesday with Zia to be put to rest beside her husband, late president Ziaur Rahman, with full state honours.

Zia, who had been elected prime minister three times, breathed her last in Dhaka on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. She was 80.

According Law Adviser Asif Nazrul, Zia’s funeral will be held after the Zohr prayers at the Parliament's South Plaza and the adjoining Manik Mia Avenue.

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, who is heading the interim administration of Bangladesh, has announced a three-day state mourning and a one-day general holiday in Zia’s honour. 

Zia's death came soon after her son Tarique Rahman – the de facto chief of her party BNP - returned to Bangladesh after living in exile for 17 years.

What are reasons behind Jaishankar's Dhaka visit?

Jaishankar’s presence at Zia’s funeral is being viewed as India’s outreach to crisis hit Bangladesh amid strained relations between the two nations. Ties between India and Bangladesh has hit a low ever since Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student uprising last year.

Zia stints as Bangladesh PM - between 1991 and 1996, and 2001 and 2006 – were often viewed as being hostile to India.

She had strengthened ties with China which became the primary supplier of military equipment to Bangladesh.

What is Zia's son's stance on India?

However, Zia’s son Rahman has been friendly towards India so far even as he opposes the Younis-led regime.

Earlier this year, Rahman has questioned the legitimacy of the interim administration taking long-term foreign policy decisions without winning an electoral mandate. At a rally in Dhaka following his return to Bangladesh, he had asserted that Bangladesh would not align itself closely with either India or Pakistan.

Rahman has also slammed the anti-India Jamaat-e-Islami – which used to be an ally of the BNP - and highlighted its support for Pakistan during the 1971 war.

Rahman’s recent support for a ‘Bangladesh first’ approach and his opposition to overdependence on both India and Pakistan is being viewed as an extension of his family’s political legacy.