Qatar offers air ambulance for Khaleda Zia’s treatment

Qatar has offered to provide an air ambulance to facilitate medical treatment for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Diplomatic sources confirmed that Qatar communicated this to the BNP on Thursday morning.

Earlier, on 29 November, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir wrote to Qatar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, Seraya Ali Al-Qahtani, requesting assistance in arranging an air ambulance.

Khaleda Zia was taken to Evercare Hospital on the night of 23 November after experiencing breathing difficulties. Tests detected a lung infection, following which she was admitted. Her condition deteriorated early Sunday, prompting her transfer from the SDU (Step-Down Unit) to the CCU (Coronary Care Unit).

Party leaders and activists from various parts of the country continued to gather outside Evercare Hospital today to enquire about her condition. A large crowd was visible at around 10:30 am.

As part of her treatment support, British medical specialist Richard Beale arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon.

A four-member medical team from China also arrived later that night, landing in Dhaka shortly after 9:00 pm and proceeding directly to Evercare Hospital.

Khaleda Zia is currently under the care of a combined medical board comprising Bangladeshi specialists, physicians from Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States, and experts from The London Clinic.

A five-member advance team of Chinese physicians arrived in Dhaka earlier on 1 December to support her treatment.