After 2006
After tremendous domestic and international pressure and amid Awami League claims of partisanship, President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed stepped down as Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh but remained as the President of Bangladesh. Elections scheduled for January 22 were postponed. The new caretaker government led by former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, in its fight against corruption, has targeted many of Ms Zia's BNP ministers.
Ms Zia's eldest son, Tareque Rahman (Pino), was also arrested in March 2007 for corruption. It was later reported that, beginning on April 9, the government barred other politicians from visiting Ms Zia's residence due to the state of emergency, imposed in January, which prohibits political activity. Youngest son of Ms Zia, Arafat Rahman (Coco), was arrested on April 16.
Since United News Bangladesh (UNB) carried unverified reports of Arafat's arrest on April 16, it cited unnamed 'family sources' as claiming Ms Zia was considering exile. UNB said speculation was mounting Ms Zia would relocate to Saudi Arabia. It also noted her brother, Major (Retd.) Sayeed Iskandar was attempting to negotiate her exit from Bangladesh with authorities from the interim administration. The New Nation newspaper carried a report on April 17 stating Khaleda had in fact agreed to go into exile in return for the release of her youngest son. The report said the Saudi government had expressed its willingness to accept Khaleda and her family members as royal guests. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's The Daily Star quoted an unnamed source who claimed Zia's decision to leave the nation meant authorities would now force Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, Zia's bitter rival who was then in the United States, to also embrace exile. All these reports about exile and government pressure on Ms Zia were denied by the government.
On April 19, Khondker Babul Chowdhury, a member of the BNP national executive committee, filed the appeal urging the court to order the government not to send Khaleda abroad against her wish and challenging the reported confinement of Khaleda to her house. On April 22 the High Court issued a rule on the government to explain within five days why the court will not direct the government to produce Khaleda Zia before the court to prove that she is not confined to her house. On April 25, in what was viewed as a reversal, the government said that Zia's movement was not restricted and that she had not been under any pressure to leave the country; it also dropped its ban on Hasina's return.
On May 7, the government was ordered by the High Court to explain restrictions on Ms Zia that were said to remain in place.
On July 17, the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh (ACC) sent notices to both MS Zia and Ms Hasina, requesting that details of their assets be submitted to the commission within one week.
Zia was asked to appear in court on September 27, 2007 in connection with a case for not submitting service returns for Daily Dinkal Publications Limited for years.
On September 2, 2007, a case was filed against Ms Zia by the interim government for corruption regarding the awarding of contracts to Global Agro Trade Company in 2003, and on September 3 she was arrested. Her youngest son Arafat Rahman (Coco) along with 11 others was also detained after police recorded a corruption case against them involving irregularities at Chittagong port. A bribery case was also filed against current Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina (rival of Khaleda), detained in a special jail. On the same day, Ms Zia expelled party Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Joint Secretary General Whip Ashraf Hossain for breaching party discipline. On September 30, Zia was granted bail by the High Court, which also ruled that the trial should be stopped on the grounds that the emergency laws could not be applied to her actions before they were imposed in January 2007. The government appealed this decision, however, and on October 4, 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that she should not be granted bail and that the trial should continue.
After Khaleda Zia was detained, party standing committee members chose former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman and former Water Resources minister Major (Rtd.) Hafizuddin Ahmed to lead the BNP for the time being; Zia's supporters did not recognize this. Bangladesh Election Commission subsequently invited Hafizuddin's faction, rather than Zia's, to participate in talks, effectively recognizing the former as the legitimate BNP. Zia challenged this in court, but her appeal was rejected on April 10, 2008.
Ms Zia's youngest son Arafat Rahman (Coco) was released in August 2008, and her eldest son Tareque Rahman (Pino) was released on bail on September 3, 2008. Ms Zia had been granted bail on two of her four cases by this point, but remained in jail because bail had not been granted for the other two. Her lawyers said on September 4 that they would also seek bail for the other two cases.
Read more about this topic: Khaleda Zia