Bangladesh's first female prime minister Khaleda Zia has died at the age of 80 after suffering from a prolonged illness. "Our favourite leader is no longer with us. She left us at 6am this morning," Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) announced on Facebook.

A once-banned Bangladeshi Islamist party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February's parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief told Reuters on Wednesday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday represented India at the funeral of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and handed over to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman a letter of condolences from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rahman, 60, is the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, one of two major political parties in the South Asian nation of more than 170 million people. His return is seen as politically significant ahead of the next election set for Feb. 12 under the current interim government.

Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a figure from the July Uprising, was allegedly shot by an Awami League activist, who has reportedly fled to India.

In his letter to Rahman, Modi recalled his meeting and discussions with Zia during his Dhaka visit in 2025. He went on to call her a "leader of rare resolve and conviction", adding she made important contributions to the development of Bangladesh.

In office for three terms, she traded the country’s leadership with Sheikh Hasina, the head of another political dynasty, over decades. She was believed to be 80.

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