Be kind to Khaleda and let her fly abroad for treatment, BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul urges govt

BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has urged the government to be compassionate to Chairperson Khaleda Zia, a COVID patient, and allow her to fly abroad for better treatment.

“You all know that her family have applied to the government to get her better medical treatment abroad. We hope that the government will arrange her medical treatment abroad on humanitarian grounds,” the BNP secretary general said at an event on Thursday.

Patients suffer from different post-COVID-19 complications that become severe, he said.

“She is receiving treatment in a good hospital in Bangladesh but we need to see if she can get better treatment abroad.”

The 76-year-old has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital since Apr 27 after she tested positive for the coronavirus on Apr 11. She has underlying health conditions.

On Monday, Khaleda was transferred to the Coronary Care Unit after she had complained of breathing distress.

Khaleda had been living in her Gulshan residence since the government granted her a suspended sentence in March 2020.

She had served 25 months out of 17 years of prison sentences in two corruption cases, involving Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust.

The government imposed two conditions on the suspended sentence: Khaleda will not be able to travel abroad and she must receive treatment at home.

The family of Khaleda have applied to the government to get her better medical treatment abroad. Her brother Shamim Eskander met the home minister with the appeal on Wednesday. Later, it was forwarded to the law ministry.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed the development and said: “We'll positively consider it if she needs treatment abroad.”

Fakhrul shared the update on Khaleda’s health saying the doctors are giving their best to treat her. “It is the basic right of the people in Bangladesh that they want to see their leader fit and fine.”