Ziaur Rahman, wanda aka fi sani da Zia, ya zama shugaban kasar Bangladesh a lokacin da ke cike da manyan kalubale.Kasar dai na fama da karancin albarkatu, da bala’in yunwa a shekarar 1974, da tabarbarewar ci gaban tattalin arziki, da cin hanci da rashawa, da kuma yanayin dambarwar siyasa bayan kisan gillar da aka yi wa Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.Wannan hargitsin ya ta'allaka ne da juyin mulkin da sojoji suka yi a baya.Duk da wannan cikas, ana tunawa da Zia da ingantaccen tsarin gudanar da mulki da kuma tsare-tsare masu inganci wadanda suka sa aka farfado da tattalin arzikin Bangladesh.Wa'adinsa ya kasance mai sassaucin ra'ayi na kasuwanci da karfafa gwiwar zuba jari na kamfanoni.Wani gagarumin nasara da aka samu shi ne fara fitar da ma'aikata zuwa kasashen Gabas ta Tsakiya, wanda ya kara habaka kudaden da ake aikewa da su daga kasashen waje na Bangladesh tare da sauya tattalin arzikin yankunan karkara.A karkashin jagorancinsa, Bangladesh ta kuma shiga sashen tufafin da aka kera, inda ta yi amfani da yarjejeniyar da aka kulla.Wannan masana'antar yanzu tana da kashi 84% na jimillar kayayyakin da Bangladesh ke fitarwa.Bugu da ƙari, rabon harajin kwastam da harajin tallace-tallace a cikin jimlar kuɗin haraji ya haura daga kashi 39 cikin ɗari a 1974 zuwa kashi 64 cikin ɗari a 1979, wanda ke nuni da ƙaruwar ayyukan tattalin arziki.^{[29 <>]} Noma ya bunƙasa a lokacin shugabancin Zia, inda yawan amfanin gona ya karu sau biyu zuwa uku a cikin shekaru biyar.Musamman ma, a cikin 1979, jute ya zama mai riba a karon farko a tarihin Bangladesh mai cin gashin kansa.^[30]Shugabancin Zia ya fuskanci kalubalantar juyin mulki da dama a cikin Sojojin Bangladesh, wanda ya murkushe su da karfi.Gwajin sirri bisa dokar soji ya biyo bayan yunkurin juyin mulki.Duk da haka, dukiyarsa ta kare a ranar 30 ga Mayu 1981, lokacin da jami'an soji suka kashe shi a gidan da ke Chittagong.Zia ta karbi jana'izar kasa a Dhaka a ranar 2 ga watan Yunin 1981, wanda ya samu halartar dubban daruruwan jama'a, wanda ke nuna shi a matsayin daya daga cikin jana'izar mafi girma a tarihin duniya.Abin da ya gada ya hada da farfado da tattalin arziki da rashin zaman lafiya a siyasance, tare da bayar da gagarumar gudunmawa ga ci gaban Bangladesh da kuma zaman da ya yi fama da tashe tashen hankulan sojoji.