A day after being released from house arrest, former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia, delivered a public speech after over 6.5 years as she addressed her party's rally at the capital's Naya Paltan via video link. During her first speech since she was set free after 2018, Zia said that "Bangladesh got independence from the fascist government" due to the "brave children who made the impossible possible."
"You have been praying for my health all this while. I am able to speak to you to due to the blessings of Allah. We have been able to get independence from this fascist government. I pay my obeisance to the brave ones who gave their lives," she said in the video message in Bangla.
"We have to form a new Bangladesh from this victory where the youth and students will be our hope," she said.
In her address, Zia also warned against the attacks on religious minorities.
"We have to build a democratic Bangladesh where all religions are respected. The youth and students will get this done. A progressive Bangladesh where there is peace and prosperity. A country where no revenge and hatred is not present," she said.
“Not destruction, not revenge, not vengeance, let’s build a society based on love, peace, and knowledge,” said Khaleda.
The former PM also lauded the students for making the "impossible possible through struggle and sacrificing their lives." "I pay respect to hundreds of martyrs," she added.
Khaleda is undergoing treatment for various ailments at Evercare Hospital and was released on Tuesday on president Mohammed Shahabuddin's executive order, a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country amid massive protests against her government. She delivered her first address after release from the same hospital.
Zia was arrested in February 2018 after she was convicted in two corruption cases.
Earlier today, Zia also received a renewed passport, which was collected by her personal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar.