Bangladesh High Court seeks documents on ex-PM Khaleda Zia’s birth date

Bangladesh high court seeks documents on ex-PM Khaleda Zia's birth date

According to media reports, the Bangladesh High Court has asked relevant documents of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, including the birth registration and academic qualification certificates to determine her genuine date of birth.

The virtual High Court Bench of Justice M. Enayetur Rahim and Justice Sardar Md. Rashed Jahangir issued the order on June 13 after hearing a writ petition filed on May 31 by Supreme Court lawyer Md. Mamun-or-Rashid challenging the legality of celebrating the birthday of 75-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief on August 15. The court on June 13 summoned the birth registration, passport, educational certificate and other documents regarding Ms. Zia’s date of birth from her, the United News of Bangladesh news agency reported. In response to the writ petition, the court asked authorities concerned to provide the record to it in 60 days. Zia has been sentenced to 17 years in two graft cases since February 8, 2018. In the petition, the lawyer said it was a tragic problem for the people that Zia stated her date of birth as August 15, 1946. The report added that the father of the Nation, Banga Bandu Sheikh Mujiburraman, and most of his family were brutally murdered in 1975. The petitioner stated that Zia’s birthday was recorded on her SSC certificate as September 5, 1946. Her marriage registration on August 4, 1944.