Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia is being flown to London on Friday for treatment. She has been undergoing care at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka and was placed on life support following a sudden deterioration in her health.
An air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar will carry the BNP chairperson to Heathrow Airport, from where she will be taken to The London Clinic by a regular ambulance, family and medical sources said.
Khaleda was treated at the same clinic earlier this year. Her son, BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, has already completed the necessary formalities to admit her there.
The flight was expected to arrive in Dhaka in the early hours of Friday. However, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Thursday night that there might be a delay due to a technical problem.
“This will delay the departure of our party chief. It may take up to 10:00am or so for the flight to take off,” he told TIMES of Bangladesh.
Zubaida Rahman, wife of Tarique, was on her way to Dhaka from London. She is expected to arrive at around 11:00am and will then board the air ambulance to accompany her mother-in-law.
Once the air ambulance is ready, Khaleda will be taken to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by helicopter to avoid road travel. In this regard, two helicopters from the Bangladesh Army and Air Force flew over Evercare Hospital for a trial run but did not land or take off.
Announcing the plan to take Khaleda Zia to London, her personal physician Professor AZM Zahid Hossain told journalists, “If everything goes well, we will take Begum Khaleda Zia to the UK to a designated hospital, on the Qatar Royal Air Ambulance.”
He said the medical team overseeing her treatment unanimously decided to transfer her abroad due to the limitations of available treatment in Bangladesh.
The 80-year-old politician will be accompanied by several family members, specialist doctors from Bangladesh and abroad, personal staff, and two SSF members to ensure her care and safety during the flight.
A three-time prime minister, Khaleda Zia has long been suffering from arthritis, diabetes, kidney complications, lung issues, and eyesight problems, particularly since her imprisonment in a graft case by the ousted Awami League government.
She was cleared of restrictions on 5 August last year, the day Sheikh Hasina’s regime fell. Later, Khaleda Zia travelled to London on 7 January this year for treatment and returned on 6 May after a 117-day stay in hospital and at her son’s home.
At that time too, the Emir of Qatar sent an air ambulance to take the BNP chief to London. After receiving treatment, she stayed with Tarique at his London residence as her recovery continued. She returned to Dhaka on the same air ambulance in improved health.
The BNP chairperson has since been taken to Evercare Hospital for routine medical care. She was admitted on the evening of 23 November after falling ill. As her condition continued to worsen, doctors placed her on life support, but there has been no sign of improvement.
Amid this situation, Khaleda Zia has been declared a “Very Very Important Person” by the state, and members of the Special Security Force (SSF) and President Guard Regiment (PGR) have been deployed to secure the Evercare Hospital area.
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has called upon the nation to pray for the party chairperson and expressed hope that she would be able to return to the country in good health.
Speaking at a press conference at the Chairperson’s Office in Gulshan on Thursday, he said, “We are praying to the Most Merciful Allah that He may take her there safely and in good health, and that we may be able to get her back among us in good health.”
