B'desh ex-premier Khaleda Zia still 'seriously ill', says close aide

Dhaka, Nov 29 (PTI) Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and former premier Khaleda Zia is still “seriously ill”, and may require treatment abroad if her condition stabilises, a close aide said

on Saturday.

Zia, the 80-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, was admitted to a private hospital on November 23 when she developed a chest infection that affected both her heart and lungs.

Four days later, the three-time prime minister was shifted to the coronary care unit after several of her health complications worsened.

At a press conference, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that Zia was still “seriously ill”.

“The physicians said she may require treatment abroad, but her current physical condition does not permit overseas travel…doctors will reconsider the matter only if her condition stabilises,” Alamgir said.

He said apart from leading Bangladeshi doctors, specialists from Johns Hopkins in the United States and the London Clinic in the United Kingdom were treating her.

The hospital authorities did not issue any statement on her health on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh President Mohammad Shahabuddin expressed deep concern over Zia’s deteriorating health condition, urging countrymen to pray for her quick recovery.

“At this crucial juncture in the country’s democratic transition, I convey my heartfelt wishes for the early recovery of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia,” state-run BSS news agency quoted Shahabuddin as saying in a statement.

“I pray to Almighty Allah for her good health and call upon the countrymen to keep her in their prayers,” the president said.

Interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, meanwhile, held a special meeting with his advisory council to pray for Zia’s recovery, where religious affairs adviser AFM Khalid Hossain administered the prayers.

Yunus was constantly monitoring Zia’s health condition, according to his press wing.

A large number of BNP activists and supporters rallied outside the hospital to get updates on Zia’s health despite the party’s request not to crowd the facility.

The party earlier called for special prayers for her at all mosques across Bangladesh after Friday’s Jumma prayers.

Zia’s security affairs adviser, Major General (retd) Fazle Elahi Akbar, meanwhile, told reporters that her condition “improved a bit” as he emerged from the facility.

Elahi added that if Zia is deemed fit enough to travel abroad, “an arrangement will be made definitely for her better treatment overseas”.

The doctors at the hospital are in constant consultation with expert foreign physicians, among whom a specialised Chinese medical team expressed interest in coming to Bangladesh to assist in her treatment, a member of her personal medical team said.

Zia, the wife of slain Bangladesh president Ziaur Rahman, has been suffering from multiple other health complications, including liver and kidney issues, diabetes, arthritis, and eye-related illnesses.

Earlier in the year, Zia returned to the country from London on May 6 after spending four months for advanced medical treatment.

Her only son and BNP’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, has been living in London since 2008. Her other son, Arafat Rahman, died of a cardiac arrest in 2025.

BNP has emerged as the frontrunner in Bangladesh’s changed political landscape after a student-led violent street protest toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. PTI AR GRS GRS GRS