Bangladesh's former PM Khaleda Zia receives renewed passport

DHAKA: Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who was released from jail after the ouster of her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina, has received a renewed passport, her party said on Wednesday.

Zia, 79, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under the rule of Hasina, 76, who resigned as prime minister on Monday and fled to India in the face of massive protests against her government.

She has received a renewed passport, BNP media cell member Shairul Kabir Khan was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

The renewal process for her passport was completed on Tuesday. Subsequently, Zia's personal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar received her renewed machine-readable passport on her behalf later that night, it said.

The Bangladesh National Party (BNP) chairperson, currently undergoing treatment for various ailments, was released on executive order from President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday following the collapse of the Hasina-led Awami League government.

Zia had been imprisoned for more than two years. On March 25, 2020, the Hasina government suspended her sentence and granted her conditional release through an executive order. Subsequently, the government extended her sentence suspension and release period every six months, upon application.

The rivalry between the two begums -- Hasina and Zia -- has defined politics in Bangladesh for decades.