Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be buried beside her late husband, former President Ziaur Rahman, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka. The interim government confirmed that she will be laid to rest with state honors. Khaleda Zia passed away early Tuesday morning at a hospital in Dhaka after a prolonged illness.

Ziaur Rahman, a former president and a sector commander in Bangladesh’s Liberation War, was killed in a military coup in Chittagong on May 30, 1981. Initially buried in Rangunia, his body was later brought to Dhaka and reinterred with state honors at what was then Sher-e-Bangla Park, adjacent to the National Parliament. The site was later renamed several times, known alternately as Chandrima Udyan and Zia Udyan.

Political historian Mahiuddin Ahmed noted that the decision to bury Ziaur Rahman near the Parliament was made by the interim government led by Acting President Justice Abdus Sattar. Former deputy minister A.B.M. Ruhul Amin Howlader said the cabinet unanimously approved the proposal, which was also supported by then army chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad.