Bangladesh President orders release of jailed former PM Khaleda Zia amid protests in country

Amid the turmoil in Bangladesh, President Mohammed Shahabuddin has ordered the release of Khaleda Zia, the jailed former Prime Minister and opposition leader, hours after her rival Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the military took power. Hasina, 76, resigned and left the country earlier in the day amid mass protests against her government.

Khaleda Zia, the leader of the BNP and a key opponent of former Prime Minister Hasina, is 78 years old and in poor health. She has been confined to a hospital after being sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2018 on corruption charges. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader had served as Bangladesh's Prime Minister from 1991 to



1996 and again from 2001 to 2006.

In a press statement, it was announced that President Mohammed Shahabuddin "decided to release Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia immediately." The decision was made during a meeting with opposition party members.

Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the heads of the navy and air force, as well as top leaders from various opposition parties including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, attended the meeting where the decision to release Khaleda Zia was made. "The meeting has also decided to free all the people who have been arrested during the student protests," the statement added.