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than two years starting February 8, 2018, in what he described as “false cases filed by Hasina out of personal vendetta.”

“The entire nation saw that she entered jail walking on her own feet. But she emerged with critical illnesses,” Nazrul said, adding that according to physicians, her condition worsened because she was denied advanced treatment abroad during four years of house arrest.

“In the end, this indomitable leader was forced to surrender to death. For that reason, fascist Hasina can never escape the burden of this death.”

Nazrul argued that her opponents, unable to defeat Khaleda politically due to her popularity, organisational capacity, and uncompromising stance on national interests, treated her as a personal enemy. He recalled that she had also faced imprisonment during the autocratic rule of Ershad and under the army-backed caretaker government.

“Fascist Hasina evicted Khaleda Zia from the house steeped in the memory of her martyred husband to satisfy a personal vendetta and sentenced her to 17 years in prison on false charges. Yet, she did not compromise with hegemonic politics, nor did she compromise on freedom of expression or voting rights,” Nazrul said, calling her an inspiration.

He added, “Today, the leader of the nation lies here, absolved of all accusations and drenched in the love of millions. On the other hand, those who persecuted her have death warrants hanging over their heads. Ershad had to face long imprisonment, and key figures of the 1/11 government were forced to leave the country.”

Highlighting her political career, Nazrul noted that Khaleda joined BNP on January 3, 1982, and successively served as vice-chairperson, acting chairperson, and finally chairperson elected through the council. “In her 43 years of political career, she led the BNP for 41 years.”

Nazrul recalled that Khaleda restored democracy and brought BNP back to power through a free and fair election in 1991 after a relentless nine-year struggle against autocratic Ershad. “She earned the title of ‘Uncompromising Leader’ from the nation. No temptation, conspiracy, or threat could force her to choose the path of compromise until the end of her life.”

Quoting Khaleda’s famous line, “We have friends abroad, no masters,” Nazrul said her tenure saw Bangladesh recognised globally as an “Emerging Tiger” due to her development policies.