BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will travel to London on 7 January night for advanced medical treatment, party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formally announced today (5 January).
“We, all members of the Standing Committee, have come here to bid farewell to our leader [Khaleda] as she embarks on her journey to London on the night of 7 January,” he told the media after a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee with Khaleda at her residence in Gulshan.
According to sources at BNP, Khaleda is expected to leave Dhaka on 7 January at 10pm, from where she will travel to the United States for further treatment, reports UNB.
“If no major complications arise, she will leave Dhaka at 10pm on Tuesday via a Qatar Airways air ambulance bound for London,” said a BNP leader close to Khaleda.
During her way back home, he said, the BNP chief may also perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia.
This will be Khaleda Zia’s second overseas medical trip, following her 2017 visit to London for treatment. Also, it will be her first reunion with her son Tarique in seven years, and her first overseas visit since she was freed from jail.
Her medical team said that all arrangements have been made for her treatment at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Hospital in East Baltimore, Maryland.
Khaleda Zia, 79, has been battling multiple health issues, including liver cirrhosis, diabetes, arthritis, and complications involving her kidneys, lungs, heart, and eyes.
A 15-member delegation will travel with the BNP chief, including her late son Arafat Rahman Koko’s wife, Syeda Sharmila Rahman, several physicians, BNP leaders, personal staff, and two housemaids.
Senior leaders meet Khaleda
The BNP standing committee members today met Khaleda Zia ahead of her London trip. The meeting began at Khaleda’s Gulshan residence at 9:12pm and it lasted for around 30 minutes.
According to party sources, Khaleda Zia discussed her upcoming visit to London for medical treatment scheduled for 7 January and provided directives to her party leaders in preparation for the trip.
BNP Standing Committee member Khondkar Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan,Nazrul Islam Khan, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Begum Selima Rahman, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed and AZM Zahid Hossain attended the meeting.
Earlier, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Col (retd) Oli Ahmad visited Khaleda Zia at 6:40pm and held an hour-long meeting before leaving at 7:55pm.
Following his meeting, LDP president Press Secretary Salah Uddin Razzak, said, “Oli Ahmed exchanged greetings and inquired about Khaleda Zia’s health. However, no political issues were discussed.”
Despite her declining health, the ousted Awami League government repeatedly denied her permission to travel abroad for treatment. Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August, she was fully freed under executive order, paving the way for her abroad treatment.
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