Former prime minister and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been recommended to have a pacemaker implanted in her heart following a medical board decision.
She is currently under treatment in the coronary care unit (CCU) at Evercare Hospital in the capital city.
A doctor from the medical board overseeing Khaleda Zia's treatment on Sunday revealed that a decision was made on Saturday night during a meeting of domestic and foreign physicians convened by the medical board. Another meeting of the medical board is scheduled for Sunday.
Khaleda Zia's personal physician, Dr ZM Jahid Hossain, said that her physical condition remains stable as before.
Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital during the early hours due to a deterioration in her physical condition on Friday. The 79-year-old leader suffers from arthritis, heart disease, respiratory issues, liver and kidney problems, and diabetes among other complications.
Previously, Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka on August 9, 2023. At that time, she received treatment in the CCU for two days.
On October 27, 2023, Khaleda Zia underwent a successful surgery to implant a pacemaker in her bloodstream due to cirrhosis of the liver.
When her health stabilized a bit, she was taken home after more than five months.
Khaleda Zia, chairperson of the BNP, was arrested on February 8, 2018, in two corruption cases. She was in jail for more than two years.
Khaleda Zia's sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases was stayed by the government on a parole basis on March 25, 2020, suspending the execution order. Since then, the government has been extending her sentence every six months.