The order to release Zia comes hours after her archrival Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled Bangladesh.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has ordered the release of jailed former prime minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, hours after her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled the country.
The president's press team said in a statement on Monday that a meeting chaired by Shahabuddin had “unanimously decided to immediately release Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.”
The president's meeting was attended by army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the chief of the navy and air force, and top leaders of several opposition parties, including the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Zia, 78, a two-time prime minister of Bangladesh, is in poor health and confined to a hospital after being sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption in 2018.
She shares a long-standing rivalry with Hasina, and has been accused of abuse of power by embezzling some $250,000 in donations intended for an orphanage trust.
The BNP said the cases were fabricated and aimed at keeping Zia out of politics, allegations denied by Hasina's government.
“The meeting also decided to release all those who were detained during the student protests,” the president's statement added.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested since last month during deadly street protests over a government jobs quota that quickly escalated into a nationwide call for Hasina to step down.
Nearly 300 people have been killed in weeks of protests that authorities have tried to suppress. On Sunday, a night of deadly violence left nearly 100 people dead and a curfew was imposed to quell the protests.
Earlier on Monday, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said an interim government would be formed and an investigation would be carried out into deaths during weeks-long protests.
“I promise you that we will bring justice for all the killings and injustices. We ask you to have faith in the country’s army. I take full responsibility and I assure you not to be discouraged,” the general said.
The military also said it would lift the curfew at dawn on Tuesday and open offices, factories, schools and universities from 6 a.m. Tuesday (00:00 GMT).
Reporting from Dhaka, Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury said that despite the violence, arrests and curfew, people on the streets were jubilant at Hasina's departure.
“Just a few minutes ago, an army patrol told the protesters to go home, that the army was with them and that they should leave the streets clear. They said that the protesters were all protected and not to worry. But people still think about staying on the streets even though there are not so many people,” he said.
Chowdhury added that what happens next in the country “depends on how the interim government is formed, who its members are and how acceptable they are to the public.”
The military has “a very difficult task ahead of it,” UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan told Al Jazeera.
“We all hope for a peaceful transition and accountability for all the human rights violations that have taken place.”
