BNP holds protest in front of Jatiya Press Club to demand overseas medical treatment for Khaleda

Leaders and activists of the BNP have staged a demonstration in front of the Jatiya Press Club demanding party Chairperson Khaleda Zia be allowed to go abroad for advanced medical treatment.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was present at the demonstration, which was attended by nearly a 1,000 activists from 10 am on Monday

The demonstration follows the 7-hour-long nationwide hunger strike the party had observed on Saturday to press for the same demand.

Abdus Salam, the convener of the Dhaka South City Corporation BNP, presided over Monday’s programme.

““Our beloved leader Begum Khaleda Zia is fighting for her life at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. It is very important to send her abroad. We have taken to the streets for this. We won’t go back home until our leader is sent abroad,” Salam said.

Noting that demonstrations were ongoing across the country, Salam said new programmes will be announced at the demonstration in Dhaka.

Khaleda Zia, the 76-year-old former prime minister has been released from jail through an executive order after being convicted in a corruption case.

Her family filed a petition to allow her to travel abroad for treatment, but the government says that she must return to jail first to apply for permission.

Khaleda suffers from arthritis, diabetes and complications involving the kidneys and lungs. She had been hospitalised with COVID as well.

She was convicted in two graft cases and was taken to jail three years ago.

In April 2020, in light of the pandemic, the government granted a request from her family for a conditional temporary release from jail for “humanitarian reasons.”

At a discussion session on Sunday, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said if Khaleda is not sent abroad for treatment, the government will have to face a “mass movement.”

Meanwhile, Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the government will take the necessary steps if any act of violence occurs at the BNP's protests.