Tax authorities in Bangladesh have decided to unfreeze the bank accounts of Khaleda Zia, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The decision to freeze her accounts was based on a recommendation made by a panel formed during the then army-backed caretaker government, said a senior NBR official.

This decision comes 17 years after the banks were ordered to block her accounts.

“As there are no tax-related issues pending investigation relating to her, we have advised banks to unlock all her accounts. We have asked them to take immediate action and provide a compliance report,” the official quoted.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has instructed banks to unfreeze Zia’s accounts, according to a report in the Daily Star newspaper.

NBR stated that they received an application from Zia’s lawyer on Sunday, seeking to unfreeze her bank accounts.

Since the initial order in 2007 to freeze Khaleda Zia’s bank accounts, they have remained blocked. The BNP has repeatedly demanded that her accounts be unfrozen over the years.

The latest move by the tax authorities to unfreeze her accounts comes after a significant political change in Bangladesh. On August 5, a mass uprising toppled the long-time rival of Zia, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ending the 15-year rule of the Bangladesh Awami League.

An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on August 8, replacing Hasina’s administration.

Following these events, Zia was released from jail after Hasina, who was 76 years old at the time, fled to India on August 5.

Zia has previously served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, first from March 1991 to March 1996, and then again from June 2001 to October 2006.

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In August 2007, the NBR’s Central Intelligence Cell had directed banks to freeze the accounts of the BNP chairperson, who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh twice since 1990.