First Pak-India leaders' contact in Dhaka after May war
Indian Jaishankar shakes hands with Pakistan NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq at Dhaka during Khaleda Zia’s funeral: Handshake between Jaishanker and Ayaz Sadiq draws attention
In an interesting development, Indian Foreign Minister Jay Shankar met with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Dhaka on Wednesday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the channel report, both leaders met at the residence of the late Bangladeshi prime minister, Khalida Zia.
Jay walked up to Ayaz and shook hands with him. The NA speaker reciprocated the Indian FM’s gesture with a smile.
Representing Pakistan, NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq attended the funeral prayers and paid respects to the late prime minister.
On arrival at Khalida’ residence, Speaker Ayaz met with her son, Tarique Rahman, and daughter, expressing condolences on behalf of the government and the people of Pakistan.
“In this hour of grief, the government and people of Pakistan stand with you,” he said.
Zia’s children thanked the speaker for his support and participation in the funeral.
Ayaz also met Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser, Khalilur Rahman, conveying messages of sympathy from the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan.
According to AFP, Zia, the first woman to serve as prime minister in the South Asian nation of 170 million people, died on Tuesday aged 80.
"Khaleda Zia has been an inspiration," homemaker Sharmina Siraj told AFP, adding that "it is difficult to imagine women in leadership positions anytime soon".
The 40-year-old mother of two said stipends introduced by Zia to support girls' education "had a huge impact on the lives of our girls. To me, this is her biggest contribution".