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Zia’s funerals were expected to draw hundreds of thousands of her supporters and people from across the country while dignitaries from India and Pakistan were also expected to arrive in Dhaka. She will be buried beside the grave of her husband, a former president who was assassinated in a military coup in 1981, in a park outside the parliament building later Wednesday.

Zia came to politics after her husband’s death and rose to prominence as an opposition leader during a nine-year movement against a former military dictator who was ousted in a mass uprising in 1990. Zia became prime minister for the first time in 1991, with a landslide victory in a democratically held national election as the country introduced parliamentary democracy. She was the leader of her Bangladesh ºÃÉ«tvist Party till her death.

Zia, who was known for having a calm demeanor, maintained a strong political rivalry with her archrival and former . Hasina, who heads the Bangladesh Awami League party, ruled the country for 15 years before she was ousted in 2024 in .

Zia's coffin, draped in Bangladesh’s national flag, was carried in a van escorted by security officials and party supporters from the hospital to her residence and then to the funeral venue.

Authorities said about 10,000 security officials including soldiers would be deployed around the venue to maintain order on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate announced a three-day mourning and declared Wednesday a public holiday to facilitate the funerals. Flags were kept at half-staff Wednesday across the country to show respect to Zia, the country’s first female prime minister who served two full terms and another brief term.

Zia’s eldest son, , is the acting head of her Bangladesh ºÃÉ«tvist Party, which is the front-runner in the nation’s next elections in February.

Hasina, who has been in exile in India since Aug. 5, 2024, was on charges of crimes against humanity involving last year’s uprising.