General Ershad was jailed for corruption

After taking power following her victory in the polls held in October, Mrs Zia issued a list of alleged acts of corruption committed by the Awami League government.

She then announced a white paper on corruption committed during the previous five years would be published.

The government says the paper is still under preparation.

Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina, speaking to the BBC from the USA, said the charges were baseless and motivated by vindictiveness.

Bangladesh's Law Minister Moudud Ahmed denies this and says the country must rid itself of the image of being a corruption-ridden land.

Mass poverty

Corruption is widely believed to be rife in Bangladesh and donors have frequently asked successive governments to weed it out.

Shortly before the October elections, Transparency International branded Bangladesh the most corrupt country in the world.

Bangladesh is also one of the world's poorest countries with over half the population living under the poverty line.

Rich leaders lead poor people

Political parties have used the image of corrupt leaders being responsible for mass poverty against their rivals.

Another former ruler, General H M Ershad, too was charged with corruption by Mrs Zia's previous government in the early 1990s.

General Ershad was convicted of corruption and served a prison sentence before being released.

Sheikh Hasina's government too filed corruption cases against Khaleda Zia herself a few years ago.

Earlier in the year, Bangladesh's High Court suspended those cases.