78-year-old Khaleda Zia was sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2018 for corruption. (file)

Bangladeshi President Mohammad Shahabuddin ordered the release of jailed former prime minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia on Monday, hours after her rival Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the military took power.

The president’s press team said in a statement that the meeting chaired by Shahabuddin “has unanimously decided to immediately release Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia”.

The meeting was attended by Army Chief General Waqar-ul-Zaman, Chief of Navy and Air Force and senior leaders of various opposition parties including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

“The meeting also decided to release all those who were arrested during the student protest,” the statement added.

Earlier on Monday, Waqar-ul-Zaman said in a broadcast to the nation on state television that Sheikh Hasina had resigned and the army would form a caretaker government.

It added that “the meeting has decided to form a caretaker government immediately”.

Sheikh Hasina had tried to quell nationwide protests against her government since early July but fled the country after Sunday’s brutal unrest that left nearly 100 people dead.

Khaleda Zia, 78, is in poor health and confined to hospital after being sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption in 2018.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

President of Bangladesh Mohammad Shahabuddin (T) Bangladesh Violence (T) Prime Minister of Bangladesh



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