BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia remains in critical condition at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
Speaking to reporters on Friday after a special prayer gathering following Jummah prayers at the Nayapaltan Central Jame Mosque, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “Doctors said on Thursday night that madam’s condition is extremely critical.
“That is why we, on behalf of the party, have asked people across the country to pray for her recovery.”
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has also sought prayers from the nation for the recovery of the former three-time prime minister.
On Friday evening, chief adviser’s Senior Assistant Press Secretary Foyez Ahmad told the media that Yunus had been regularly monitoring Khaleda Zia’s treatment and had instructed officials concerned to ensure every relevant medical support.
The chief adviser emphasised that all possible assistance must be provided for her treatment. “In this period of democratic transition, Khaleda Zia is an immense source of inspiration for the nation. Her well-being is extremely important for the country,” Ahmad added.
Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital on the night of 23 November following the advice of her medical board. At the time, board member Professor FM Siddiqui said she had developed an infection in her lungs and was under close observation in her cabin.
Born on 15 August 1945 into a respected Muslim family in Dinajpur, Khaleda Zia is the daughter of Taiyaba Majumder of Chandanbari and Iskandar Majumder of Feni’s Phulgazi area.
While studying at Surendranath College in Dinajpur, she married the then Pakistan Army Captain Ziaur Rahman. The couple’s elder son Tarique Rahman is now BNP’s acting chairman, while their younger son Arafat Rahman Koko has passed away.
Following the assassination of the then president Ziaur Rahman by a group of renegade army men on 31 May 1981. Khaleda Zia, then a housewife, entered politics at the request of BNP leaders and activists.
She received BNP membership on 3 January 1982 and was elected chairperson unopposed on 10 May 1984. Her uncompromising role in the anti-autocracy movement of the late 1980s earned her nationwide prominence. In 1991, she became Bangladesh’s first female prime minister.
After returning to office in 2001, her four-party alliance formed government for the third time.
During the 1/11 political crisis, the Fakhruddin-led caretaker government arrested her on 3 September 2007. She remained in jail until September 2008. The BNP failed to form government following the 2008 general election.
In 2018, the Awami League government imprisoned her after she was convicted of corruption involving Tk2 crore.
Kept in the damp old jail, Khaleda Zia’s health deteriorated rapidly, and although specialists repeatedly recommended advanced treatment abroad, the then government rejected multiple applications from her family.
During the Covid-19 outbreak, the government suspended her sentence for six months on 25 March 2020, placing her under conditional release at a rented house in Gulshan. She was restricted to hospital and home.
Her health took several critical turns in the following years, requiring repeated hospital admissions.
After the fall of the Awami League regime on 5 August last year, President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered Khaleda Zia’s release on 6 August.
Now aged 81, Khaleda Zia has long been suffering from liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, heart complications, diabetes and arthritis.
On 8 January, she travelled to London for advanced treatment under specialists Professor Patrick Kennedy and Professor Jennifer Cross at the London Clinic, returning to Dhaka on 6 May after four months.
Since then, she has undergone multiple check-ups at Evercare Hospital as part of routine medical follow-up.
