Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has been hospitalised in critical condition, BNP leaders said. The 80-year-old BNP supremo was admitted to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka on November 23 after suffering a chest infection and is being treated by a medical board of Bangladeshi and foreign doctors.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said doctors described her physical condition as extremely critical and asked the nation to pray for her recovery, noting the chest infection has affected her heart and lungs. Zia has also been dealing with liver and kidney problems, diabetes and arthritis.
After Friday’s Jumma prayers, special prayers were held for her speedy recovery, Alamgir added, expressing hope she can recover and return to work for the country. Zia had been treated in London before returning to Dhaka on May 6. Her eldest son, Tarique Rahman, has lived in London since 2008; her younger son, Arafat Rahman, died of a heart attack earlier this year.
Zia, widow of former President Ziaur Rahman, served as prime minister from 1991–1996 and 2001–2006. Ziaur Rahman, founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was assassinated on May 30, 1981, by rebel army officers in Chittagong; Khaleda Zia became BNP chief in 1984.
