Family want Khaleda treated abroad, she will agree if bailed, her sister says

The family of BNP chief Khaleda Zia want the government to send her abroad for medical treatment and she may agree if she gets bail, her sister Selima Islam has said after visiting her.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 Oct 2019, 02:33 PM
Updated : 25 Oct 2019, 02:34 PM

The members of the family met the 73-year-old former prime minister on Friday at the BSMMU hospital in Dhaka where she has been undergoing treatment for nearly seven months under the supervision of the jail authorities.

“Her (Khaleda’s) condition is very bad. Her leg has bent. She can’t move and feels pain even while lying in bed. We want to send her abroad for advanced medical treatment,” Selima told reporters after meeting her sister.   

She said Khaleda did not say anything about it. “But we want it. Because there has been no improvement here. Her condition is worsening by the day instead,” she said.

“Doctors haven’t visited her for two weeks,” Selima said. “Then why have they kept her here?” she asked.   

Asked how Khaleda, jailed for 17 in years in two corruption cases last year, would go abroad, Selima said: “She can go if they grant her bail.”

The BNP has alleged the government is deliberately hindering her bail after jailing her to keep her away from politics.

The government maintains that the issue entirely depends on court. 

She is suffering from arthritis and diabetes. 

Besides Selima, her brother Shamim Eskander, his wife Kaniz Fatema and son Avik Eskander and Shahina Khan Zaman Bindu, sister-in-law of Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman, Atanu Eskander, the son of Khaleda’s late brother Sayeed Eskander and Atanu’s son saw Khaleda for over an hour.