BNP chief Khaleda Zia is mainly suffering from four afflictions: liver cirrhosis, arthritis, stents in her arteries and diabetes. Among these, liver complications are the most critical and could potentially lead to significant issues at any moment. As a result, Khaleda Zia frequently requires hospital visits, according to an official at the BNP chairperson's office.
Quoting Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, coordinator of the medical team responsible for Khaleda Zia’s treatment, the official said doctors from the US had reinstated a TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt) in her liver, a temporary measure. “Only a liver transplant can make Begum Zia healthy.”
Doctors have repeatedly said Khaleda Zia needs to be taken to Germany, the US or the UK for a liver transplant. However, the government has rejected such requests.
Sensitive topic
Meanwhile, several members of the BNP chairperson's medical team emphasized the potential for significant problems arising from liver complications at any moment. Despite this concern, there has been a noticeable absence of discussion within both the party and Khaleda Zia's family on the prospect of addressing such a situation. All sides involved have deliberately steered clear of the topic, recognizing its sensitive nature.
“While there has not been any formal discussion, the matter is certainly on our minds,” Barrister Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar, the most senior leader of the BNP, said.
“There is danger in such discussions about Madam. There may be complications. People can get the wrong message. However, it is indeed crucial to consider Madam's physical condition.
“Whether she receives treatment abroad or at home, how her physical condition is now, whether it would be right to take her abroad – these issues need to be addressed. The medical board formed for Madam – the government too can form a board – they all need to have this discussion together and make a decision,” said Jamiruddin Sircar, a former parliament speaker and currently member of the BNP standing committee.
A certain section within the BNP thinks there is no discussion in the party about the situation arising out of the deterioration of Khaleda Zia's health. They say neither her family nor the party has been talking about what would happen in her absence.
In such circumstances, the government would be in total control of the party, several top BNP officials fear.
They are worried that the party will have to proceed according to the government’s whims, noting that when the Zia family made a request for a specific graveyard for the burial of Khaleda Zia's younger son Arafat Rahman Koko, it was turned down.
“We are not even thinking about this,” Jamiruddin Sircar said when asked to comment on the issue.
A senior member of the BNP standing committee, however, said the way Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was running the country, it was clear that her government would control any situation related to Khaleda Zia.
Saiful Haque, a leader of theGanatantra Mancha, one of the partners of the BNP’s simultaneous anti-government movement, said the government should now take the initiative and allow the former prime minister’s treatment overseas, given her deteriorating health condition.
“If her life is in jeopardy here, the government will bear responsibility for it,” he added.
Replying to a question about politics post-Khaleda Zia, Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque said the BNP leadership had some thoughts on these matters, surely. “There is also room for planning. At the same time, if the party leaders know what Khaleda Zia thinks of her treatment, even politically, it will be good for the party.”
Frequent hospitalizations
Khaleda Zia's health continued to worsen after she was sent to prison on February 8, 2018. She received treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) hospital for an extended period while jailed. On March 25, 2020, the BNP chief returned home after being given conditional release through an executive order of the government amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shairul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP media cell, said Khaleda Zia tested positive for Covid-19 on April 11, 2021. He went on to say that on the night of April 27, she was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the Bashundhara Residential Area of the capital, followed by the formation of a 10-member medical board for her treatment the next day.
Khan said Begum Zia returned to Feroza, her Gulshan residence, on the night of June 19.
Since then, she has been making frequent visits to the hospital for the past two and a half years, according to the BNP leader.
A source at the BNP chief's home said the atmosphere resembled that of a "mini hospital" when she returned home after receiving medical attention at the hospital.
According to the source, her room is equipped with various medical devices.
Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said a team comprising at least 23 people from the US and the UK was on the BNP chairperson's medical board.
Khaleda Zia returned home after her most recent hospital stay on May 2, having gone there the previous day for a checkup. She had previously been hospitalized on March 31 and discharged on April 2.
Following her return home on May 2, according to Dr Zahid Hossain, Khaleda Zia was receiving emergency treatment for chronic liver disease. “Permanent treatment, which will allow her to be functional for a long time, is a liver transplant, which she needs as soon as possible, overseas.