Khaleda under close observation, says her physician

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been kept under close observation of doctors in the capital's Evercare Hospital where she is currently receiving treatment for various ailments, her personal physician Professor Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said today.

"Khaleda Zia is undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital. At one stage, she was shifted to the CCU due to deterioration of her overall condition, including liver, kidney, heart and lung functions. But now, she is under close observation of the medical board," he said.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is still not out of danger, the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said today, citing her doctors.

"Today, we are fighting for the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh. Khaleda Zia, leader of the country and mother of democracy, is still fighting for her life under house arrest," said Mirza Fakhrul at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan office on Monday (18 September).

Khaleda Zia was taken to the CCU last night and was moved to her cabin this morning.

"Doctors have repeatedly advised to take her abroad for treatment," said the BNP leader, demanding the BNP chairperson's unconditional release. 

Sharmila Rahman Shinthi, wife of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's late son Aarafat Rahman Koko, has been staying with her at the hospital.

The BNP chief was admitted to the hospital on 9 August after falling sick. She was shifted to the CCU on Sunday night as per the recommendation of the medical board. Later, she was shifted to the cabin on Monday morning.

Dr Zahid said the medical board said she urgently needs a liver transplant at a modern multidisciplinary medical centre abroad.

The 78-year-old former prime minister has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, and eye problems.

Since her conditional release in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the hospital under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.

Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty in another corruption case the same year.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with the condition that she stay in her Gulshan house and not leave the country.