The government has formally handed over the title deed of the Gulshan residence to Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

Adviser to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, Adilur Rahman Khan, presented the title deed to Khaleda Zia around 9:00 pm on Wednesday.

ABM Abdus Sattar, Private Secretary to Khaleda Zia, confirmed the matter, stating that Housing and Public Works Secretary Md Nazrul Islam and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) Chairman Riazul Islam were also present during the handover.

According to Sattar, the adviser arrived with a few documents and handed them over to the former Prime Minister, although he was unaware of the exact nature of the papers.

Following the assassination of then-President Ziaur Rahman on May 31, 1981, his widow Khaleda Zia was allotted a house situated on one and a half bighas of land in Dhaka’s Gulshan area.

The house is located near another residence named 'Firoza' in Gulshan, where Khaleda Zia currently resides. In addition to the Gulshan house, a separate residence within Dhaka Cantonment had also been allotted to her. However, the previous Awami League government later revoked that allocation.

Sources indicate that although the Gulshan house has long been under the use of the BNP Chairperson, it was not officially registered in her name until recently. The registration was completed after the interim government assumed office.

Officials at the Public Works Ministry stated that the process of registering the Gulshan residence in Khaleda Zia’s name has been finalized. They added that the government had intended to hand over the documents earlier, but the formal handover was delayed due to her health condition.

MSK/