September 11, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 10, 1429

DHAKA: The release of former Bangladeshi premier Khaleda Zia may spell a return of the political climate that forced the army-backed regime to step in and declare a state of emergency 18 months ago, observers say.

On Tuesday, the High Court awarded bail to 63-year-old Zia, who has been detained for more than a year on graft charges as part of the interim government’s crackdown on corruption.

Her lawyers told AFP they were waiting to see whether the government would appeal against the bail order.

The government wants Zia to travel abroad after freeing her, which it hopes will ensure her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) stands in December elections aimed at restoring democratic rule.

But experts said they expected Zia to stay in the country and participate in the polls – reviving the debilitating struggle between Zia and her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina Wajed, leader of the Awami League party and a former prime minister.

“Politics in Bangladesh is all about personality. It’s still the most important factor here,” Golam Hossain, a political professor at Jahangirnagar University, told AFP.

“Without Zia and Sheikh Hasina it’s hard to make the elections meaningful.”

Known as the “battling begums” for their longstanding personal rivalry, Zia and Sheikh Hasina have ruled the country alternately since democracy was reinstated in 1991 until the army-back government came to power. Begum is a Muslim female honorific.

The government, which came to power in January 2007 after emergency rule was imposed and polls cancelled following charges of vote-rigging, freed Sheikh Hasina in June.

Sheikh Hasina, who led the country from 1996 to 2001, was allowed to travel to the United States where she has been receiving medical care. Her lawyers say she will return later this month.

“The BNP is not going to go to the polls without Zia and the Awami League is not going to go without Sheikh Hasina,” Hossain said.

Dhaka University politics professor Ataur Rahman said if Zia was allowed to stay in the country, the government would be forced to bring Sheikh Hasina back as well.

“I am sure they wouldn’t allow her (Zia) to take part in elections while the other one is abroad,” he said.

“It will be the same old era coming back – that is the reality.”

Authorities released Zia’s older son and heir apparent Tareque Rahman last week after bail was granted on all 13 graft charges against him.

Often referred to as the most powerful man in Bangladesh despite having held no ministerial post in his mother’s government, Rahman is expected to fly to Britain on Thursday to seek treatment for a spinal injury.

Zia’s younger son, Arafat Rahman Koko, was freed last month.

The release of the two women, who belong to opposing political dynasties, has been widely seen as a bid by the government to end a stalemate with both parties and allow elections to be held by the third week of December.—AFP