Dhaka, Dec 30 (.) Foreign dignitaries from South Asia set to attend BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s last rites include Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
The others include Nepal’s Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Bhutan’s Foreign Minister DN Dhungyel. Maldives President’s special envoy and Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development Ali Haidar Ahmed will also be present in Dhaka tomorrow for the funeral, news reports said.
On Tuesday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that S Jaishankar will travel to Dhaka on Dec 31, and will represent the government and people of India at the funeral.
This will mark the first ministerial visit from India to Bangladesh since the Aug 5, 2024 ouster of the previous Awami League government.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced Sadiq’s travel plan in a post on the microblogging site X. He wrote, “Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan, will represent Pakistan at the funeral of the late Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka, Bangladesh.”
Earlier, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka had said that Ishaq Dar would be attending the funeral.
However, now the speaker has been confirmed to be attending the funeral.
Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia, 80, passed away in Dhaka earlier today after a prolonged illness. She will be laid to rest at Zia Udyan in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, beside the grave of her husband, President Ziaur Rahman.
. .