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Published : 10 Dec 2025, 11:17 AM
Ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina says that she is “gravely concerned” about the health of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, adding that she is praying for her, according to reports in the Indian media.
During an email interview with Indian private news agency IANS, published on Tuesday, Hasina was asked about reports of her longtime rival’s condition and that security forces had been deployed at the hospital where she was staying.
“I am gravely concerned to hear that Begum Khaleda Zia is ill and will pray she can make a recovery,” she responded.
In Bangladeshi politics, Khaleda and Hasina are known as the “two leaders”. The two of them combined have served as prime minister for more than 30 of Bangladesh’s 54-year history. At one time, their hostile relationship was portrayed in foreign media as the “Battle of the two Begums”.
Under the Awami League's rule, Khaleda was sentenced to prison in a corruption case in 2018. Two years later, Hasina conditionally suspended her sentence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After that, Khaleda had to be hospitalised several times. Although her family and her party had wanted to take her abroad for treatment, Hasina's government did not allow it. On the contrary, Hasina even criticised Khaleda's hospital visits in a public press conference.
Awami League leaders blamed Khaleda's BNP government for the attempted assassination of Hasina in a 2004 grenade attack. The BNP, for its part, has also blamed Hasina for Khaleda's illness.
In August, 2024, a student-led mass uprising ousted Hasina from power after 15 years. She then fled to India. Khaleda was subsequently released. After the political changeover, the courts also acquitted her in the corruption cases.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has sentenced Hasina to death after finding her guilty in a case of crimes against humanity for her attempts to suppress the July Uprising. She has also been sentenced to prison in two other cases on charges of corruption involving plots of land.
Meanwhile, 79-year-old Khaleda has been suffering from various chronic diseases, including heart complications, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis and kidney problems, for a long time. She was diagnosed with a lung infection when taken to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka for a health check-up on Nov 23.
She was admitted to the Critical Care Unit of the hospital and BNP leaders said her condition was critical. A team of local and international specialists is supervising her medical treatment.
Although plans have been made for Khaleda to be airlifted to London for advanced treatment, her condition does not currently allow it.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said taking her abroad now depends on her condition, physical ability to travel by plane, and the decisions of her medical board.
