BNP Standing Committee members including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met ailing party chief Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence on Tuesday night.
“Khaleda Zia has prayed for the well-being of the country’s people…so that they live well, get back democracy and their rights,” Fakhrul told reporters after the one-hour visit.
He said that they were happy to meet the BNP chairperson after a year to greet her on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
“She isn’t fit yet. Doctors can say about the latest condition. I can only say that she’s very sick,” he said. Khaleda Zia inquired about the well-being of the country’s people during the meeting and also greeted the countrymen on the occasion of Eid.
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“She has learned about the overall situation of the country from us and expressed her concerns. She also reads newspapers regularly,” he added.
Fakhrul and other leaders – Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Jamiruddin Circar, Mirza Abbas, Goyeshawar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan and Selima Rahman – entered Khaleda’s residence “Firoza” around 8pm. They stayed there for an hour, reports Bangla Tribune.
Khaleda Zia had lunch with her sister Selina Islam, younger brother Shamim Iskander and close relatives.
The BNP leaders earlier met Khaleda Zia at her residence during the Eid-ul-Adha last year.
Haji Salim’s travel abroad
Earlier in the day, Fakhrul and senior leaders of the party offered fateha at the grave of party founder General Ziaur Rahman.
Talking to reporters, he censured the government for allowing lawmaker Haji Mohammad Salim, convicted in a graft case, to travel to Thailand.
“The overseas travel of convict Haji Salim has exposed that [BNP Chairperson] Khaleda Zia was jailed in false cases for purely political reasons,” said the former state minister.
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Fakhrul said they prayed to the Almighty Allah to save people from the current situation. "We also prayed for the establishment of democracy in the county and an end to autocracy," he added.
Fakhrul referred to the US’ human rights report to claim that the BNP chief had been convicted in political cases out of political "vengeance”.
He alleged that the Awami League government wanted to perpetuate its power by unjustly keeping Khaleda in jail and repressing BNP leaders and activists.
Three-time former premier Khaleda Zia, 76, has been staying at her Gulshan residence since the suspended her jail sentence in March 2020. She was admitted to hospital several times.
The BNP chief's physicians said that she had been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, ophthalmological and dental complications.