Bangladesh bid farewell Wednesday to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia with a state funeral attended by vast crowds mourning a towering figure whose decadeslong political career helped shape the nation’s modern history.
Zia, the first woman to serve as prime minister in the South Asian nation of 170 million people, died on Tuesday aged 80.
Flags were flown at half-mast and thousands of security officers lined roads as her body was carried through the streets of the capital, Dhaka, by a vehicle in the colors of the national flag.
A sea of mourners gathered outside parliament and packed streets leading to it, many waving national flags as well as those of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), before prayers held over her coffin.
Retired government official Minhaz Uddin, 70, said he had never voted for Zia, but came to honor the three-time prime minister.
