, Aug. 26 -- BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Wednesday said the late Begum Khaleda Zia, thrice-former prime minister and matriarch of the BNP, was killed through a conspiracy and described her as a martyr.

"Since the Ershad regime and throughout Hasina's 17 years of unbearable fascist rule, various conspiracies were hatched to remove her from the world. Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia were also killed through conspiracies. She too is a martyr," he said.

Rizvi made the remarks while briefing journalists after a joint meeting at the BNP central office in Nayapaltan in the afternoon, ahead of the party's 48th founding anniversary.

He said the two of them had relentlessly struggled for the nation, its...