Ex-premier Zia returns to Dhaka

Bangladesh’s ailing former PM Khaleda Zia returned home from London on Tuesday after four months of medical treatment, with her party leaders expressing hope that her presence will facilitate the restoration of democracy in the country ruled by an interim government.

Zia, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and three-time former premier, went to London on January 8 for advanced care.

Student outfit NCP’s leaders recently said polls under the existing “pro-BNP” bureaucracy were unlikely to be fair. Yunus has said the poll could be delayed until June 2026.

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