BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be directly admitted to an advanced medical center in London upon arriving at Heathrow International Airport in the UK, her physician Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office, he stated that a special royal ambulance from the Amir of Qatar would arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:30 pm on Monday to transport Khaleda to London.
Zahid, also a BNP Standing Committee member, mentioned that Khaleda, along with her entourage -- including six doctors from her medical team and four doctors from the air ambulance – will depart Dhaka airport at 10 pm on Tuesday for London via Doha.
He added that BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, his wife, and BNP leaders from the UK chapter will welcome Khaleda upon her arrival at Heathrow Airport.
Zahid confirmed that the BNP chief would be taken directly from the airport to the advanced medical center in London, where doctors would assess her health condition and determine her next course of treatment.
On behalf of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, he called on the people of the country to pray for Khaleda's swift recovery so that she can return to Bangladesh as soon as possible.
Earlier on Sunday night, Mirza Fakhrul formally announced that their party chief would travel to London on Tuesday night for advanced medical treatment.
“We, all members of the Standing Committee, have come here to bid farewell to our leader (Khaleda) as she embarks on her journey to London on the night of January 7 (Tuesday),” he said while speaking to reporters after a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee with Khaleda at her residence in Gulshan.
Tarique Rahman and his family have been living in London since 2008.
This will be Khaleda Zia’s second overseas medical trip, following her 2017 visit to London for treatment. It will also be her first reunion with her son Tarique in seven years and her first overseas visit since being freed from jail.
Despite her declining health, the Awami League government repeatedly denied her permission to travel abroad for treatment. Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, she was fully freed under an executive order, paving the way for her treatment abroad.
Khaleda Zia, 79, has been battling multiple health issues, including liver cirrhosis, diabetes, arthritis, and complications involving her kidneys, lungs, heart, and eyes. Her doctors have advocated for her overseas treatment since her diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in late 2021.
On October 26, 2022, a team of three specialist doctors from the United States performed the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure to address fluid accumulation in her stomach and chest, as well as liver bleeding.
In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government temporarily released her on an executive order, suspending her sentence on the condition that she remain at her Gulshan residence and not leave the country.
On August 6, 2023, Khaleda Zia was fully freed by an order from President Mohammed Shahabuddin.
Source: UNB
Bd-pratidin English/Fariha Nowshin Chinika
