Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, aged 78, is reported to be in critical condition, according to a senior leader of her party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The Daily Star reported that Zia was urgently transported to Evercare Hospital around 3:30 am on Saturday after falling seriously ill at her residence, ‘Firoza,’ in Gulshan.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has accused current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of denying Zia necessary medical treatment abroad due to personal political motives. Alamgir stated, “It’s our misfortune that our leader Khaleda Zia is now in critical condition on her deathbed without receiving any necessary medical treatment abroad.”
Upon arrival at Evercare Hospital, Zia was admitted to the CCU, where a medical board began her treatment. Despite the care provided, BNP leaders insist that the medical facilities in Bangladesh are inadequate for her condition and that she needs treatment in a multidisciplinary hospital abroad.
Zia, who served as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006, has been imprisoned under what the BNP describes as politically motivated charges. Alamgir claimed that Zia’s health deteriorated while she was in Old Dhaka Central Jail, where she did not receive proper medical attention.
“The BNP chief repeatedly complained about her health, but the government ignored her pleas,” Alamgir said. “Even when she was taken to the hospital by jail authorities, she did not receive appropriate treatment.”
The medical board attending to Zia has repeatedly asserted that her condition cannot be adequately treated in Bangladesh and that she requires advanced medical care available only in a developed country. Alamgir accused Prime Minister Hasina of intentionally blocking this option to eliminate Zia from the political scene.
“Sheikh Hasina, out of her personal political vendetta, has denied Khaleda access to better medical treatment to kill her and to remove her from politics,” he alleged.
