Khaleda Zia Hospitalized: Former Bangladesh PM in "Very Critical" Condition

Addressing journalists in Dhaka, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir spoke about the party chief's critical health condition and urged the public to keep her in their prayers.

"You all know that our leader Begum Khaleda Zia has fallen ill and been hospitalised. Last night (Thursday), doctors said her health condition is very critical," Bangladeshi media outlet UNB quoted the BNP leader as saying.

Reports suggest that Khaleda Zia was admitted to a hospital in Dhaka on the night of November 23 following the medical board's advice after being diagnosed with infections affecting her heart and lungs.

She is also battling pneumonia and remains under intensive observation in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the hospital, with both local and foreign specialist doctors overseeing her treatment, the UNB reported.

Khaleda Zia returned to Dhaka this May after four months of medical treatment in London. She was accompanied by her two daughters-in-law — the acting Chairman of the party, Tarique Rahman’s wife Zubaida Rahman, and the late Arafat Rahman Koko’s wife Syeda Sharmila Rahman.

Speaking to the reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that Khaleda Zia's return to the country would facilitate the transition to democracy.

“It is a very happy day for the nation. Her presence is significant at the time of democratic transition,” the BNP Secretary General said on her return

Earlier discussions in Bangladesh revolved around the potential return of Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, who is “actively considering” leading the outfit on home soil.

Rahman, who has been leading the BNP from London, is also at the crossroads. Having recently been acquitted in major cases, including the August 2004 grenade attack, he faces minimal legal hurdles to return.

According to local media reports, he is expected to come back to Bangladesh "immediately after" the election schedule is announced in the first week of December.

It may be mentioned that Khaleda Zia was sentenced to prison for seven years and fined Bangladeshi Taka 1 million in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case on October 29, 2018. She was imprisoned at the Central Jail in Old Dhaka.

After the Sheikh Hasina government was toppled by the so-called 'student-led mass movement' on August 5, Khaleda was released by the President of Bangladesh Mohammed Shahabuddin, through an executive order. The court later also quashed her jail sentences.

- IANS