Khaleda set to be flown to London for treatment

Critically-sick BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia is set to be flown to London by Friday as her medical teams from home and abroad recommended the travel, said the party on Thursday.
The decision to take Khaleda to London has been made on advice of specialist doctors, said her physician AZM Zahid Hossain talking to reporters outside the Evercare Hospital.
The party in a statement on its official social media Facebook says Dr Zubaida Rahman, wife of Acting BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, is arriving in Bangladesh Friday to take her mother-in-law to London Bridge Hospital in the UK for advanced treatment.
She will be taken to London on an air ambulance of the Qatari royal family, the statement reads.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir separately at a briefing also said the air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar will arrive here by Thursday night. The medical airplane will leave for London by tomorrow (Friday) morning.
A technical glitch has developed in the special air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar to carry BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Due to this, the BNP Chairperson's journey to London for advanced treatment may be slightly delayed, said the BNP media cell on Thursday night.
Zahid Hossain says all preparations have been made so that she can be treated safely on the plane despite any adversities.
"Nothing is being considered beyond the advice of the medical board. Virtual meetings were held thrice today with specialist doctors. Doctors from the UK and China saw her in person. The latest discussions were held with all of them," says the personal physician of the ex-PM.
The complications that arose owing to Khaleda Zia's lung infection are improving somewhat. However, there are complications in the heart. The remaining problems are largely unchanged.
Four specialist doctors from China came to Dhaka on Wednesday night. They joined Khaleda Zia's medical board at night. Earlier in the day, specialist Dr Richard Billy arrived in Dhaka from the UK.
These doctors saw Khaleda Zia's latest test reports, leading to the decision on her fly.
Khaleda Zia was taken to Evercare Hospital on November 23 after experiencing breathing difficulties. She was admitted after tests revealed a lung infection. She was shifted from the SDU to the CCU on Sunday morning when her physical condition deteriorated.
She went to London in January for advanced treatment. There, she first received treatment at the hospital and later at her son Tarique Rahman's house. After almost four months, she returned to the country on May 6.
Additional security has been taken for Khaleda Zia, including the deployment of the Special Security Force (SSF), at the Evercare Hospital. Earlier, the interim government declared Khaleda Zia as a very, very important person (VVIP) of the state.
A total of 14 individuals are accompanying Zia. They include daughter-in-law Syeda Sharmila Rahman, physicians Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain, Fakhruddin Mohammad Siddiqui, Md Shahabuddin Talukder, Nooruddin Ahmad, Md Zafor Iqbal and Mohammad Al Mamun, SSF officials Hasan Shahriar Iqbal and Syed Samin Mahfuz, acting BNP chairman's assistant Md Abdul Hai Mollick, assistant private secretary Md Masuder Rahman, and housemaids Fatema Begum and Rupa Sikdar.
The octogenarian has been suffering from various physical complications like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, and kidney complications for a long time. She was rushed to Evercare Hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties on November 23.
Khaleda Zia was sentenced to prison in two cases during the ousted Awami League government. She had been held in prison for more than two years. She was not allowed to go abroad for treatment despite huge health complications and calls from her doctors.
The BNP chief was released after Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5 in the face of a mass uprising that overthrew her Awami League government.

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