Bangladesh Nationalist Party chair and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia remains in a critical condition, but she is currently able to receive the treatment being administered by her medical team, according to doctors and senior BNP leaders on Tuesday.
They said that while her condition remained unchanged, the treatment was continuing under close monitoring.
The BNP chair’s personal physician AZM Zahid Hossain said that Khaleda Zia remained under careful medical supervision and she was currently able to receive treatment.
‘She is able to receive the treatment the doctors are giving her, or we may say she is able to maintain it,’ he told reporters outside Evercare Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Zahid said that any decision to take her abroad for advanced treatment would entirely depend on the medical board’s assessment and her physical condition.
‘The BNP has made all preparations to take her abroad if required. However, nothing can be done outside the medical board’s recommendations or without taking her current condition into account,’ he said.
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s personal physician AZM Zahid Hossain briefs about the health condition of the ailing former prime minister in front of Evercare Hospital in Bashundhara residential area in Dhaka on Tuesday. — Md SauravAccording to Zahid, a specialist from the United Kingdom is scheduled to assess Khaleda Zia’s condition.
‘They will assess her condition. If she is deemed transferable, if a transfer is necessary, and if the medical board agrees, she will be taken abroad for appropriate treatment,’ he said.
The BNP media cell confirmed that two specialist medical teams from the United Kingdom and China would arrive today to provide additional support to the party chair’s existing medical board.
Zahid expressed gratitude to the friendly nations that had extended support, saying that they were thankful to countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and India, adding that many governments and heads of state had shown their willingness to assist.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the party’s acting chair would decide on his return to Bangladesh after reviewing if his mother, party chair Begum Khaleda Zia, was in a suitable physical condition to be taken abroad for treatment.
He said that if the health condition of Khaleda Zia remained unchanged, Tarique Rahman might return to the country soon.
He made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking at a prayer gathering organised by Jubo Dal at a community centre in Nayapaltan, Dhaka.
Addressing the programme, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that despite the ongoing crisis and anxieties, they were beginning to see a ‘ray of hope’ in Khaleda Zia’s treatment, as she was currently able to receive medical care.
Khaleda Zia has been receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital since November 23.
On November 27, she was moved to the hospital’s critical care unit, where she remained under the care of a joint medical team comprising doctors from the United States, the United Kingdom and Bangladesh.
The chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force visited Khaleda Zia on Tuesday night at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.
In another development, the Special Security Force has begun providing security for Khaleda Zia at the hospital after the interim government declared her as a ‘Very Very Important Person’.
The BNP chair’s media wing member Shamsuddin Didar confirmed that SSF personnel had taken up their security tasks for Khaleda at around 2:20pm on Tuesday.
Earlier, the caretaker government had declared Khaleda Zia’s VVIP status, issuing instructions to all relevant agencies for the immediate implementation of the relevant provisions.
The decision was taken during an advisory council meeting at the state guest house Jamuna earlier in the day.
