Khaleda Zia, who passed away on December 30, remains trapped in that shadow. Invoking Robert Frost’s familiar refrain, Khaleda Zia took the road less traveled -- then declined to market the trip. By the end of Khaleda Zia’s second term in 2006, the agricultural share had receded to 20% as industry climbed to 27%. Khaleda Zia governed within a hostile landscape, navigating the lingering shadow of military power, donor pressure, and relentless political polarization. Zia avoided the sterile idiom of technocracy, and her leadership nevertheless laid the essential foundations of Bangladesh’s industrial transition.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 04, 2026 05:26 UTC