Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday sent a bouquet of flowers to BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, extending warm wishes on her birthday.

“The Chief Adviser has sent a bouquet for Madam (Khaleda) this afternoon (Friday). His officials delivered it to her residence in Gulshan,” said party Standing Committee member Professor AZM Zahid Hossain.

Zahid, who is also Khaleda’s personal physician, said the BNP chief herself was not celebrating her birthday.

“She does not host any celebrations herself, but our party is holding milad and doa mahfils across the country,” he said.

The bouquet was handed over to Khaleda Zia’s private secretary ABM Abdus Sattar at 4 pm by the Chief Adviser’s Private Secretary Shazeeb M Khairul Islam and Director of the Chief Adviser’s Office Mohammad Nazmul Islam.

BNP Executive Committee member Belayet Hossain, Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan and officers from the Chairperson’s personal wing, including Masud Rahman, were also present.

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Earlier on Thursday evening, the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka sent a floral bouquet on behalf of the Chinese Ambassador to the BNP chief to mark her birthday.

Born on August 15, 1945, in Dinajpur, Khaleda Zia served three terms as Prime Minister of Bangladesh and became the country’s first female Prime Minister in 1991.

The BNP organised a milad and doa mahfil at its central office in Nayapaltan and another at Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office on the occasion of her 81st birthday.

Khaleda’s birthday to be celebrated Friday in low-key manner

In addition to the central programme in Dhaka, similar events were held in mosques, orphanages, and madrasas across the country, praying for Khaleda Zia’s good health and long life, as well as for the eternal peace of those martyred during the 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 democratic movement, and the 2024 mass uprising.