If everything goes as planned, BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will return to Bangladesh from London within this month (April).
Sources say that the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is currently undergoing full medical check-ups at her elder son Tarique Rahman’s residence in the United Kingdom, is preparing to return home via a special air ambulance from Qatar, according to different media sources.
Khaleda Zia is expected to return by next Wednesday (April 30). Along with her, her daughters-in-law Zubaida Rahman and Syeda Shamila Rahman will also return.
A source in Dhaka mentioned that to arrange for Khaleda Zia’s return from London, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir wrote a letter last week to the interim government’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Md. Tawhid Hossain requesting a special air ambulance from Qatar.
The letter stated that former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is currently in London for advanced medical treatment. Her health condition is stable but not completely out of danger.
Nonetheless, she has expressed her desire to return home during the last week of April. Considering her health situation, doctors have advised that she should travel by special air ambulance.
Following the letter from the BNP Secretary General, the government is reportedly making arrangements through the Bangladesh High Commissions in London and Doha to bring Khaleda Zia back home. If all goes well, Khaleda Zia will return by next Wednesday (April 30).
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was imprisoned in the central jail of Old Dhaka in 2018 after being convicted in a corruption case. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous government released her under special consideration.
Following the fall of the Awami League government during the student and public uprising on August 5 last year, President Md. Shahabuddin ordered Khaleda Zia’s release. Subsequently, the court annulled the verdicts in the two corruption cases in which she had been imprisoned.
On January 8 of this year, Khaleda Zia was taken to London for advanced medical treatment. After 17 days of treatment, she was transferred from the London Clinic to Tarique Rahman’s residence on January 25.
For the first time in more than half a decade, Khaleda Zia celebrated Eid with her family members. During her imprisonment, she had spent four Eids either in jail or at the Bangladesh Medical University Hospital.
Currently, Khaleda Zia is undergoing comprehensive health check-ups at Tarique Rahman’s residence. She has been suffering from various physical ailments for a long time, including liver cirrhosis, kidney problems, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.
Notably, the BNP Chairperson last visited London on July 15, 2017. She has not traveled abroad since then.
