Khaleda Zia to travel abroad soon for treatment: Mirza Fakhrul

Khaleda Zia, former prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), will travel abroad soon for medical treatment, says Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the party’s secretary general.

He made the announcement while addressing a prayer gathering at the BNP headquarters in the capital’s Naya Paltan area on Friday, to mark the party chief’s birthday.

“I have good news to share on madam’s (Khaleda Zia) birthday. If the Almighty wills, we have decided to take madam abroad soon for her treatment,” he said, asking for prayers for her recovery and safe return after treatment.

Khaleda Zia, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a graft case in 2018, has been residing in her Gulshan home in the capital since 2020, when the government suspended her sentence through an executive order, with certain conditions.

Her party and family have repeatedly sought permission from the government to take her abroad for better treatment, but their requests were consistently denied.

Following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government through a students-led mass uprising on 5 August, the president canceled Khaleda Zia’s sentence on the following day. Since then, she has been receiving treatment at Evercare Hospitals in Dhaka.