Dhaka, Dec. 30 -- The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) says it wants to turn the grief over the death of its chief Khaleda Zia into strength, as responsibility for leading the party now rests with her elder son Tarique Rahman, who serves as acting chairman.

After a meeting of the Standing Committee on Tuesday, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said they wanted to institutionalise democracy in Bangladesh by following the course laid down by Khaleda.

Doctors at Dhaka's Evercare Hospital, where she had been under treatment for 40 days, declared 79-year-old former prime minister dead at 6am on Tuesday.

The interim government has announced three days of state mourning over her death and declared a one-day general holiday o...