Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia remains in a critical condition, with doctors reporting no significant change in her health.
She is under intensive monitoring in the CCU at Evercare Hospital in Bashundhara, where treatment is ongoing under the supervision of the medical board.
Hospital sources say her condition is serious but stable. However, they add if there is even slight improvement, she will be taken abroad for better treatment on the advice of the medical board and in line with family decisions.
An air ambulance—arranged with the support of the government of Qatar—will be brought to Dhaka once doctors deem her fit to travel.
For now, physicians say it is medically impossible to take her abroad for advanced treatment.
At around 8:45pm on Sunday, BNP’s Media Cell issued an update quoting BNP Standing Committee member and personal physician Professor Dr AZM Zahid Hossain.
He said any new decision regarding Khaleda Zia’s health would be communicated publicly. She is under intensive observation in the CCU, overseen by a medical board that includes specialist doctors from the United Kingdom.
On behalf of the family and the party, Zahid requested the nation to pray for her recovery.
The medical board—led by Professor Shahabuddin Talukder—was formed with specialist physicians. Whenever her condition becomes critical, they step in. As her health deteriorated further, two specialist teams from China and the United Kingdom joined the Dhaka-based doctors. The board, doctors say, is trying its utmost to bring Khaleda Zia back to health. But with no improvement, they decided she must remain under intensive observation in the CCU.
During this period, the family had prepared to take her to London for more advanced treatment. Doctors, however, said it would not be medically appropriate to move her in the current state. Despite this, close family members believed that with better care in London, she might recover. With this hope, the family arranged—with support from Qatar—to take her to London by air ambulance.
BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman sent his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, to Dhaka to assist directly. She arrived on Friday morning and went straight to Evercare Hospital. As both a doctor and member of the medical board, she has been attending meetings, giving advice, and staying at the hospital continuously as part of her mother-in-law’s treatment.
But Khaleda Zia’s condition has remained unchanged. This update was conveyed to Tarique Rahman in London, after which it was decided that she cannot be taken abroad at this stage. Since she is not physically fit for air travel, her planned journey to London is being delayed.
For the past 15 days, concern has been mounting among BNP supporters and the wider public. Everywhere, people are asking the same question: how is Madam Khaleda Zia? Journalists and party activists say they are approached repeatedly for updates.
On Saturday afternoon, during a briefing outside the hospital, Zahid said her physical condition alone is delaying her travel abroad for advanced treatment. He referred to the air ambulance that was unable to arrive on Friday due to technical issues, but stressed that the medical board had urgently decided that flying at this time would not be appropriate. The plan to take her abroad has therefore been postponed, and any future move will depend entirely on her medical condition.
Khaleda Zia travelled to London earlier this year, on 7 January, for advanced treatment. She was admitted to a hospital there and later stayed at the residence of her son Tarique Rahman. She returned to Dhaka on 6 May.
She was admitted to Evercare Hospital on 23 November with pneumonia, alongside long-standing complications involving her kidneys, liver, arthritis, and diabetes.
