A local court handed her the verdict for abusing power as the prime minister while disbursing a fund in favor of newly formed Zia Orphanage Trust.

[16] Referring to the international and domestic legal experts, the U.S. State Department in its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices opined that "Lack of evidence to support the conviction" suggests the case was a political ploy to remove her from the electoral process.

[25] She remained in Dhaka Central Jail from 2018 to 2020 and later conditionally freed for medical treatment until 5 August 2024,[26] after a mass uprising resulted in incumbent prime minister Hasina fleeing to India and the Bangladesh President issuing a release order of Zia.

On 28 November 1983, she took part in the "gherao movement" (encircling) of the Secretariat building at Dhaka along with the alliance leaders, which was quelled by Ershad's ruthless police force and she was put under house arrest on the same day.

Due to the deteriorating health conditions, Justice Abdus Sattar resigned from the position of BNP chief on 13 January 1984 and was replaced by Begum Khaleda Zia who was then the Senior Vice President of the party.

Country-wide rallies were organized on those days and activists of the movement died on the streets fighting the ruthless police force loyal to President Ershad.

[47] The protests continued in 1985 as well and as a result, in March of the same year, Ershad-led government tightened the grip of martial law and put Begum Khaleda Zia under house arrest.

From the moment Khaleda was installed as the leader of the BNP, she has publicly remained opposed to participation in any election held while Ershad was in power.

On 22 October of the year, Khaleda Zia's BNP in collaboration with Sheikh Hasina's Awami League declared "Dhaka Seize" programme on 10 November to overthrow Ershad.

[47] As a countermeasure, Ershad's government rounded up thousands of political leaders and activists, but on the day of seizing there were complete chaos on the streets and dozens died.

On 10 October 1990, in a violent turn of events Chatra Dal leader Naziruddin Jehad died on the street of Dhaka that paved the way for a greater alliance between all the opposition forces.

When Begum Khaleda Zia took charge in 1991, Bangladeshi children received about two years of education on average, and for every three boys, there was one girl studying in the same classroom.

[60] The First Khaleda Zia government, to address popular demand, passed a law to allow the mayors of city corporations to be elected directly by the voters.

The four-party alliance participated in the 1 October 2001 general elections, winning two-thirds of the seats in parliament and 46% of the vote (compared to the principal opposition party's 40%).

Bangladesh began to attract a higher level of international investment for development of the country's infrastructure, energy resources and businesses, including from the United States, Great Britain, and Japan.

Her government worked to educate young girls (nearly 70% of Bangladeshi women were illiterate) and distribute food to the poor (half of Bangladesh's 135 million people lived below the poverty line).

On the eve of the last day, rioting broke out on the streets of central Dhaka due to uncertainty over, who would become Chief Advisor (head of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh).

Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury, the presidential advisor, met with Zia and Sheikh Hasina, and other political parties to try to resolve issues and schedule elections.

The Awami League pulled out at the last minute, and in January, the military intervened to back the caretaker government for a longer interim period.

[86] At her meeting with Prime Minister Singh, Zia said her party wanted to work with India for mutual benefit, including the fight against extremism.

[90] Her family said, the Saudi Arabian government reportedly declined to allow her into the kingdom – apparently because "it was reluctant to take in an unwilling guest".

[93] Zia was asked to appear in court on 27 September in connection with a case for not submitting service returns for Daily Dinkal Publications Limited for years.

Bangladesh Election Commission subsequently invited Hafizuddin's faction, rather than Zia's, to participate in talks, effectively recognizing the former as the legitimate BNP.

[106] Zia's party took a stance on not participating in the 2014 Bangladeshi general election unless, it was administered under a nonpartisan caretaker government, but the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejected the demand.

[114] On 3 July 2008, during the 2007–08 caretaker government rule, ACC had filed a graft case, accusing Zia and five others of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that had come from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.

[135][136] After Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister during the 2024 Non-cooperation movement, on 5 August, President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of Khaleda Zia.

[137] Shortly afterwards, she made her first public statements since 2018 from her medical confinement, during which she praised "the brave people who were in a do-or-die struggle to make possible the impossible" and urged restraint and the need for "love and peace" in rebuilding Bangladesh.

[140] Zia has been suffering from chronic kidney conditions, decompensated liver diseases, unstable haemoglobin, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and other age-related complications.

[148] On 7 January 2025, Zia went to London aboard a special air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to seek medical treatment.

[164][165] In 2016, Gazi Zahirul Islam, the former joint general secretary of the Dhaka Union of Journalists, filed a case against Zia over her birthdate, accusing her of seeking to tarnish the reputation of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and family.