Khaleda Zia has not yet finalised her decision on whether to appear in court over graft cases.
Published : 04 Mar 2015, 09:54 AM
Though she has woken up, Khaleda is waiting to consult her lawyers before she finalizes her decision.
"Khaleda Zia has full respect for law. Since her lawyers are examining all the pros and cons of the case, she is waiting for their decision," Khaleda's press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told bdnews24.com.
bdnews24.com's chief political correspondent Sumon Mahmud says Khaleda usually wakes up around 8.30am.
Though speculations are rife about her possible arrest if she fails to appear in court, no unusual activity among police and security forces was seen outside Khaleda's Gulshan office on Wednesday morning.
Khaleda's petition to withdraw the warrant of arrest against her in the two corruption cases will be heard on Wednesday.
Dhaka’s Third Special Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar scheduled the hearing after the BNP chief’s lawyer Sanaullah Miah submitted the plea on Tuesday.
“The hearing will be held in the temporary court premises set up on Alia Madrasa ground on Wednesday,” he told bdnews24.com.
The court issued arrest warrants for Khaleda and two others (former MP Kazi Salimul Kamal and businessperson Sarafuddin Ahmed) on Feb 25 following their failure to appear in successive hearings in the corruption cases.
These involve misappropriation of more than Tk 50 million from the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust.
Khaleda Zia's lawyer and adviser Barrister Khandker Mahbub Hossain had told bdnews24.com that his client would appear in court if assured of return to her Gulshan political office on bail without any harassment.
"Unless these issues of security and safety are resolved, she will not go to court," Hossain had said.
For two months, Khaleda has been lodged in her Gulshan political office amid the ongoing indefinite transport blockade from Jan 5.
More than 100 people have died in the violence during the BNP-driven blockade and frequent strikes and the government has implicated Khaleda Zia as 'instigator' in one of the arson cases filed in Dhaka.
There are also plans to revive the Niko graft case against her.
Khaleda had last appeared in court in the two graft cases on Dec 24.
Clashes erupted between police and BNP supporters on that day after Khaleda appeared in court.
On Wednesday, Khaleda had organised at her Gulshan office for the 'Chehlum' of Arafat Rahman Coco, her younger son who died recently.
Convicted in money laundering cases, Coco died in Malaysia on Jan 24 of heart seizure.