Critically ill former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia will be flown to London for care, as her party eyes upcoming elections following her rival’s ouster last year.
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia is to be flown to Britain for medical treatment.
Her personal doctor, AZM Zahid Hossain, told reporters on Thursday that she would be taken to London by Qatar’s Royal Air Ambulance if all arrangements proceed smoothly.
The 80-year-old is currently in intensive care in the capital Dhaka with a lung infection.
No exact departure time was given, but a helicopter drill near the hospital suggested the flight could happen within hours.
The decision was made by a medical board comprising doctors from Bangladesh, Britain, China and the United States.
“Doctors will accompany her to ensure a smooth journey,” Hossain said.
Zia was jailed for corruption in 2018 under the government of her arch-rival, Sheikh Hasina, which also blocked her from travelling abroad for treatment.
She was released last year shortly after Hasina was forced from power by a mass uprising.
Despite years of ill health, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026.
Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party is widely seen as a frontrunner in the upcoming vote.
Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, has lived in London since 2008, claiming he fled political persecution.
He is seen as her political heir and has said he would run for office, though he has not been in Bangladesh for 17 years.
Since Hasina’s fall, Rahman has been acquitted of the most serious charge against him, a life sentence for a 2004 grenade attack.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus called for prayers for Zia, describing her as a “source of utmost inspiration for the nation”.
Special prayers are planned for Friday in mosques and other places of worship.
