BNP chairperson's office steeped in sorrow as party mourns its leader Khaleda Zia

Party leaders and activists have gathered in growing numbers, many overcome with emotion

A heavy stillness hangs over the BNP chairperson’s office in Dhaka's Gulshan. Staff members move quietly through the corridors, their faces marked by grief, as the party comes to terms with the death of Khaleda Zia -- its leader for more than four decades and one of the most dominant figures in Bangladesh’s political history.

Soon after news of the former prime minister's death was formally announced on Tuesday morning, the party flag was lowered to half-mast and black flags were raised at the office. Outside, party leaders and activists gathered in growing numbers, many overcome with emotion. Some wept openly, others stood silently, unsure of what to say or do.

Khaleda's son and the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman was at Evercare Hospital as the news broke. From there, he was expected to travel directly to the Gulshan office to chair a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee -- the first major decision-making gathering since his mother’s death.

By midday, senior party figures had already begun to assemble. Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir returned from a government meeting at the State Guest House Jamuna, while Standing Committee members waited inside, the atmosphere subdued but purposeful.

Khaleda died around 6am on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital, her personal physician said. She was 79.

For many in the BNP, the Gulshan office is more than a workplace -- it is a site deeply entwined with the party’s recent history and struggles. The building was taken over as the chairperson’s office after the political upheaval of January 2011, when the BNP faced internal splits, lost access to its Naya Paltan headquarters, and Khaleda was evicted from her long-time residence on Shaheed Mainul Road during the Awami League government’s tenure.

BNP leaders quickly converted the rented house into a functioning party office. A mural of party founder Ziaur Rahman was placed at the entrance. Upstairs, a chamber was created for Khaleda, alongside a meeting room where the party’s Standing Committee would repeatedly gather during moments of crisis.

The office has also been a place of confinement and loss. In 2015, Khaleda was effectively blockaded there for more than a month. When she attempted to leave for Naya Paltan, police sealed the gates and fired tear gas. That same year, while she remained confined inside the building, her younger son Arafat Rahman died in Malaysia. When his body was flown back to Bangladesh, it was brought first to the Gulshan office.

Over the years, the house has hosted countless political meetings. Former BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain and his successor Mirza Fakhrul met Khaleda there on many critical occasions. Diplomats, visiting politicians and party leaders regularly passed through its doors.

Now, a new chapter is beginning inside the same walls. A separate room has recently been prepared for Tarique, who returned to Bangladesh on Dec 25 after 17 years in exile. On Sunday, just days before his mother’s death, he held his first office meeting there.