Khaleda Zia funeral: Handing over letter from Modi, Jaishankar meets ex-PM’s son, flags ‘partnership’

WHEN ties between India and Bangladesh are strained over the security situation in the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Tarique Rahman, Acting Chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and son of former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia, and expressed confidence that Begum Khaleda Zia’s “vision and values” will “guide the development of the partnership”.

Jaishankar was one of six foreign dignitaries to attend Begum Zia’s funeral, which was attended by thousands in Dhaka. The 80-year-old former PM passed away Tuesday after a prolonged illness.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh is expected to visit the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Thursday to convey condolences, on behalf of the government, and sign the condolence book there.

Delhi’s gesture is seen as a strategic outreach to the new leadership of the BNP, which is poised to play a leading role in Bangladesh’s political landscape in the coming months — as it faces national elections scheduled for February 12, 2026. This is, in fact, the first high-level political contact with Rahman, who is the BNP’s new supremo.

Jaishankar also met BNP’s top leadership and interacted with the interim government’s Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman. Significantly, there was no meeting between Jaishankar and Chief Advisor of the interim government Muhammad Yunus.

This signals India’s direct messaging to the new players in the political arena, who are expected to play key roles in Dhaka’s post poll power structure.

Yunus, however, met Pakistan’s Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Nepal’s Foreign Minister Bala Nanda Sharma, according to the Chief Advisor’s office.

Pictures of Jaishankar exchanging pleasantries with Pakistan’s Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq were also released by Bangladesh’s interim government. However, there was no word from New Delhi on the conversation between Jaishankar and Sadiq.

These were the first pictures of exchange of pleasantries between India and Pakistan’s senior political leaders since Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam terror attacks.

About his interaction with Tarique Rahman, who returned to Dhaka on December 25 after his 17-year self-imposed exile, Jaishankar posted on X, “Handed over to him a personal letter from Prime Minister @narendramodi. Conveyed deepest condolences on behalf of the Government and people of India. Expressed confidence that Begum Khaleda Zia’s vision and values will guide the development of our partnership.”

Ties between India and Bangladesh under the Zia-led government between 2001 and 2006 had been strained over the increase of anti-India activities from Bangladesh soil and the hostile approach of the Islamist coalition partner, Jamaat-e-Islami, against India. Ties improved after Awami League’s Sheikh Hasina came to power in 2008 and cracked down on anti-India terrorist groups and insurgent groups targeting the North-East.

There were efforts to reach out to BNP when Khaleda Zia herself travelled to India in 2012 and met then President Pranab Mukherjee among others — while Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina was in power and was going to face elections in 2014. But Khaleda Zia’s call to boycott elections in 2014, when Hasina refused to hold elections under the caretaker system, gave the Awami League a walkover and BNP continued to be in the Opposition.

Later, when the BJP government came to power in 2014, then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made her first foreign trip to Bangladesh and met Zia, apart from Hasina. In 2015, PM Modi travelled to Dhaka and met Zia apart from meeting Hasina and the top brass in the government.

On Tuesday, PM Modi condoled Zia’s death and recalled this meeting. “Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in Dhaka. Our sincerest condolences to her family and all the people of Bangladesh. May the Almighty grant her family the fortitude to bear this tragic loss,” Modi said on social media.

“I recall my warm meeting with her in Dhaka in 2015. We hope that her vision and legacy will continue to guide our partnership. May her soul rest in peace,” he said.

The outreach to her son, Tarique Rahman, who is poised to lead the BNP now, is an important signal to the new BNP.

Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah said that Jaishankar conveyed condolences of the people and the government of India and “recognized her contribution to democracy”. He added that both countries “look forward to script a new chapter in ties, in shared interests driven by pragmatism and mutual interdependence, as indeed briefly discussed with (Rahman).”

Hamidullah struck a hopeful note after having been at the receiving end of protests in Delhi outside the Bangladesh High Commission over the death of a Hindu man in Bangladesh and having been summoned in the last few weeks over the safety of Indian missions.

The funeral was also attended by Bhutan Foreign minister D.N. Dhungyel, Sri Lankan Foreign minister Vijitha Herath and Maldives Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development Minister Ali Haidar Ahmed.

Jaishankar’s visit marks a significant outreach even as fingers are crossed in Delhi until the February elections.

A new government, possibly under Rahman, will have its task cut out given the level of mutual distrust. Incidentally, his mother, speaking to The Indian Express in 2014, had been prescient in her vision of bilateral ties. “…it is vital to earn the trust of the people on both sides to give this relationship greater strength… The divide-and-rule policy of colonial masters has created a sense of fear and distrust. There are forces in both of our societies who continue to play on this fear psychosis. It is, therefore, imperative that we work together to lay a new foundation… As a first step we need to sit down and seek mutually acceptable solutions… A future BNP government will encourage greater people-to-people contact and use all bilateral and regional instruments like SAARC to diversify our relations and cooperation in all fields.”