Khaleda's condition ‘stable’ after pacemaker surgery: Mirza Fakhrul

The BNP secretary general says the party will build a movement to ‘free’ its leader

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir says party chief Khaleda Zia’s condition is stable after the pacemaker implantation in her heart.

He updated the media on the former prime minister's health at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson's Office in Gulshan on Tuesday afternoon.

"As far as I know, she was shifted to the cabin yesterday... They were not supposed to do that. She was having some personal difficulty adjusting to the CCU, so she has been shifted to a cabin with CCU facilities. So far, she is stable there.”

She was rushed to Evercare Hospital around 3:30am on Friday when her health deteriorated. At the decision of a medical team led by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, a pacemaker was installed in her heart on Sunday.

Khaleda previously had heart issues with three blocks. She also had a ring installed. After considering the situation, the foreign doctors and the medical team decided to install the pacemaker.

The 79-year-old politician also suffers from a range of medical issues including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and various complications with her lungs, liver, and kidneys.

She has been hospitalised several times before, most recently on May 2 at Evercare. She stayed in the CCU for two days.

Khaleda was sent to jail in 2018 after her conviction in a graft case. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, at the request of her family, the government issued an executive order granting her temporary release from jail on two conditions - that she has to receive treatment from home and that cannot leave the country.

Over the past few years, her family has repeatedly sought permission to take Khaleda abroad for treatment, but the government has remained steadfast in its refusal, reiterating the conditions of her release.

‘CRUELTY’

Mirza Fakhrul said, "The main goal of this government is to remove [Khaleda] from politics. That's why she was convicted in a completely false case. She had no involvement in it… She is being tortured by sentencing her and subsequently extending the sentence further in the High Court.”

“As you know, she spent two years in an abandoned prison without any people. She fell ill there. Despite repeated attempts, they did not send good doctors to care for her. After lengthy efforts, she was taken to PG hospital, where she did not receive proper treatment either."

Fakhrul said, "When she was brought home, it was again under the condition that she could not leave the country, but must receive treatment here. It was then that she was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis is not a minor disease… it is a major one. Then the doctors told us that nothing could be done for her without a liver transplant. Such a surgery is not possible in Bangladesh.

“You know we have not been lax in our efforts. The government has no leg to stand on. What we have achieved so far is thanks to the efforts of her family and the party. We have brought doctors from Johns Hopkins University in the US. Thanks to those procedures, she has survived until now."

However, this is not a solution, the BNP secretary general said. “The only solution is a liver transplant. For the many ailments she has, she has to be taken to a medical centre where she can receive proper treatment while they manage her other illnesses. That is what we have said repeatedly."