Khaleda Zia in a rare appearance calls for peace and reforms in Bangladesh

Dhaka: A day after her release from house arrest, Bangladesh's former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday thanked the people of the country for their "struggle to make possible the impossible" and said it is not "anger" or "revenge" but "love and peace" which will rebuild the nation.

In her first public speech since 2018, delivered via video link at the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) rally in Nayapaltan, 79-year-old Zia appealed for calm.

She thanked people as they fought and prayed for her to be released from imprisonment, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

"I have been released now. I want to thank the brave people who were in a do-or-die struggle to make possible the impossible. This victory brings us a new possibility to come back from the debris of plunder, corruption and ill-politics. We need to reform this country as a prosperous one," Zia said.

Urging all to strengthen the hands of the youths, the former premier said, "Youths are our future. We need to build a democratic Bangladesh to fulfil their dream, and for which they shed their blood...No destruction, no anger and no revenge, we need love and peace to rebuild our country."

Zia was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under the rule of Sheikh Hasina, 76, who resigned as prime minister on Monday and fled to India in the face of massive protests against her government.

The BNP chairperson, currently undergoing treatment for various ailments, was released on an executive order from President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday.

Zia had been imprisoned for more than two years. On March 25, 2020, the Hasina government suspended her sentence and granted her conditional release through an executive order. Subsequently, the government extended her sentence suspension and release period every six months, upon application.

The rivalry between the two begums -- Hasina and Zia -- has defined politics in Bangladesh for decades.