The government is looking into legal provisions to find whether there is any option allowing BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to travel abroad for advanced medical treatment, the law minister has said on Sunday.
Speaking to the media after attending an event at the Judicial Administration Training Institute in Dhaka, Anisul Huq said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was considering the issue of Khaleda “from a humanitarian aspect.”
Petitions by Khaleda's family to take her abroad have been turned down twice earlier, he said before adding: “We are looking into the laws to find whether there’s any scope. Any decision has to be taken after assessing all aspects so that the law is not violated.”
The BNP has been demonstrating for the past few days demanding its chief to be allowed to go overseas for treatment.
The 76-year-old former prime minister is now admitted to Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital. She is out of jail through a government executive order suspending her sentence in a graft case.
Her family filed petitions to allow her to travel abroad for treatment, but the government said that she must return to jail first to apply for permission.
The law minister said earlier since Khaleda has been temporarily released on parole, there is no provision in the law to allow her to travel abroad now. If she goes back to jail and re-applies, the government may consider it.
The BNP, however, says that the government can easily grant Khaleda the permission if it wants, but is refusing to do so.