'Remain calm', Khaleda Zia urges people

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia on Monday urged everyone to "remain calm and be patient" after her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina resigned as the prime minister in the face of nationwide protests.

"Be patient and calm to protect your country, life and property," she was quoted as saying by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Following a meeting with President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban on Monday, Mirza Fakhrul Islam spoke to reporters.

He said, "I want to say to the countrymen, political leaders and activists at this moment, keep calm and be patient."

Congratulating the students, the BNP Secretary General said, "Today our victory and success are a major achievement."

Regarding the meeting with the president, the top BNP leader said that they had requested the release of all political prisoners, including Begum Khaleda Zia, and called for the withdrawal of political cases.

The 78-year-old former prime minister has been battling a range of health issues, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney and lung complications.

She was sentenced to jail in two graft cases in 2017 and served her sentence at the old central jail in Dhaka until the government decided to suspend her imprisonment on medical grounds amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Khaleda Zia was released from prison on March 25, 2020, by an executive order and the government has since extended her time out of jail in six-month spells on several occasions.