The main opposition BNP celebrated the 69th birthday of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Thursday.
Flanked with party leaders and activists, civil society representatives and well-wishers, Khaleda cut a 69-pound cake at her Gulshan office on Thursday evening.
On the occasion of Khaleda’s birthday, singer Kanak Chanpa greeted her with a bouquet and joined the BNP at the event.
Earlier in the morning, the party held another celebration event at its Nayapaltan headquarters.
The BNP and its front and associate bodies, including Dhaka city unit BNP, Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, Mohila Dal, Sramik Dal, Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskritik Sangstha, brought seven cakes.
Party’s Standing Committee members Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Rafiqul Islam Miah and Mirza Abbas, and Vice-Chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka cut the cakes while the present party leaders chanted, “Happy birthday to Khaleda Zia.”
Mosharraf later told journalists: “Today is deshnetri’s [Khaleda] 68th birth anniversary. We pray for her long life and hope she will serve the country in sound health and work for its development.”
Jaima, daughter of Khaleda’s eldest son Tarique Rahman, and Jafia and Jahia, daughters of her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko, wished Khaleda in the morning over telephone from London and Bangkok. She spoke to her sons and their wives, said Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, special assistant to the BNP chief.