Dhaka, Dec. 30 -- Begum Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's former prime minister and a controversial figure in the country's turbulent political life for more than three decades, died on Tuesday after a prolonged illness.
She was 80. Her son Tareque Rahman, who had gone into self-imposed exile to the UK, had returned on Christmas to contest elections and be at her bedside.
Her death was confirmed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which she led as chairperson. She passed away at 6 am. at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, where she had been undergoing treatment for the past five weeks. Begum Zia had been admitted to the hospital on November 23 with serious infections affecting her heart and lungs, party officials said.
She was also suffering fro...