Dhaka: The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday described the health of party Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia as “very critical” and appealed to the nation to pray for her recovery.

Speaking to journalists in Dhaka, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir highlighted the party chief’s critical condition and urged the public to keep her in their prayers.

“You all know that our leader Begum Khaleda Zia has fallen ill and been hospitalised. Last night (Thursday), doctors said her health condition is very critical,” Bangladeshi media outlet UNB quoted Alamgir as saying.

What is her current condition?

Reports indicate that Khaleda Zia was admitted to a hospital in Dhaka on the night of November 23 following the advice of a medical board, after being diagnosed with infections affecting her heart and lungs.

She is also battling pneumonia and remains under intensive observation in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU), with both local and foreign specialist doctors overseeing her treatment, UNB reported.

Khaleda Zia had returned to Dhaka in May after four months of medical treatment in London. She was accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, Zubaida Rahman, wife of the acting party Chairman Tarique Rahman, and Syeda Sharmila Rahman, wife of the late Arafat Rahman.

How did BNP describe her return?

Speaking at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport during her return, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said:

“It is a very happy day for the nation. Her presence is significant at the time of democratic transition.”

Is Tarique Rahman returning?

Earlier discussions in Bangladesh centred on the possible return of Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, who is reportedly “actively considering” leading the BNP from home soil. Having led the party from London, Tarique recently received acquittals in major cases, including the August 2004 grenade attack, removing major legal obstacles to his return.

Local media reports suggest that he is expected to come back “immediately after” the election schedule is announced in the first week of December.

What about Khaleda Zia’s legal history?

Khaleda Zia was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Bangladeshi Taka 1 million in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case on October 29, 2018, and was imprisoned at the Central Jail in Old Dhaka.

Following the removal of the Sheikh Hasina government by the so-called ‘student-led mass movement’ on August 5, Khaleda was released by President Mohammed Shahabuddin through an executive order. The court later also quashed her jail sentences.

IANS inputs