BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia leaves for airport
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia left her residence in Gulshan at around 8:15PM for the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
A large number of BNP leaders and activists gathered along the road from her house to the airport. Thousands of supporters lined up on both sides of the road to see off their leader, with various slogans.
Khaleda Zia was expected to reach the airport around 9:00 PM. She will then travel to London on a special air ambulance, provided by the Emir of Qatar, at 10:00PM for advanced medical treatment.
Senior BNP leaders will see off Khaleda Zia at the airport. Thousands of BNP leaders and workers gathered along the airport road from the afternoon.
The Dhaka Metropolitan BNP and all its affiliated organisations had issued special instructions for their leaders and workers in advance to minimise public inconvenience during the departure. However, despite these precautions, some disruption still occurred.
BNP leaders had requested the party workers to maintain order and stand on the footpath while waving off Khaleda Zia, but many of them moved onto the road.
BNP has said that Khaleda Zia will first travel to the United Kingdom, where she will be admitted to the London Clinic for treatment. After a few days of medical care, she is expected to receive treatment at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, USA.
After seven years, Khaleda Zia will meet her elder son, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, in London. Tarique’s wife, Zubaida Rahman, and their daughter, Zayma Jarnaz Rahman, will also be there to welcome Khaleda Zia.
It is believed that this long-awaited mother-son reunion may involve discussions not only about the country and party but also about future politics.
Former prime minister Khaleda Zia has been suffering from various health issues, including liver cirrhosis, kidney problems, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis for a long time. After being sentenced in a corruption case in 2018, her health worsened, and she was hospitalised several times, even reaching the brink of death.
There were multiple rumours about her death during this period. Given the circumstances, her family and party requested the government to allow her to receive treatment abroad, but the government did not respond.
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government due to the student uprising on 5 August, she was released through a presidential decree. Subsequently, the court overturned the verdicts in the two corruption cases that had led to her imprisonment.
In October 2023, three specialist doctors from Johns Hopkins University Hospital in the USA came to Bangladesh and successfully performed surgery on Khaleda Zia's blood vessels.
Khaleda Zia’s doctors have said that a liver transplant has become urgent due to her liver cirrhosis. It is anticipated that the entire medical treatment process, including the transplant, may take several months. According to party sources, once her treatment is complete, the BNP chairperson will return to London. Afterward, she may perform the holy Umrah in Saudi Arabia before returning to Bangladesh.