Ailing Jatiya Party chief Ershad opens his eyes, says his brother

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, who has been on life support for the last six days at the Combined Medical Hospital in Dhaka, has opened his eyes, his brother says.

"He is better today than any other day. He moves his head. He is opening his eyes when called by doctors," said GM Quader, also the acting chairman of the party, while briefing reporters on Ershad’s health on Tuesday.

"His main organs (Ershad) are still not working properly. His liver as well as kidneys are not functioning. The bilirubin levels in blood are also very high. Digestion is not normal. It is almost stagnant. Saline is not working. "

However, doctors expect Ershad's condition to improve if he does not suffer new infections, according to Quader.

"His condition still remains alarming."

Physicians stopped on Tuesday Ershad's dialysis that continued from Friday to observe normal functioning of the kidneys. “However, it did not produce good results,” said Quader.

The 90-year-old deposed military dictator has been suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome or a low level of haemoglobin in his blood.

He was diagnosed with lung infection and kidney ailment after he was admitted to the CMH on June 22.