BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia is scheduled to return to Dhaka on Monday on a regular Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight operating on the London–Sylhet–Dhaka route. She will be accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, Zubaida Rahman and Syeda Shamila Rahman.
The matter was confirmed to Dhaka Tribune on Friday by Shamsuddin Didar, a member of the BNP chairperson’s press wing.
Shamsuddin Didar said: “Madam will return to Dhaka from London on a regular Biman flight. The aircraft is scheduled to depart London’s Heathrow Airport on May 4, local time.”
He added: “If all goes according to plan, she will arrive in Dhaka at around 11am on Monday, May 5.”
He also said: “The aircraft carrying Madam is scheduled to land at Dhaka’s international airport via Sylhet.”
He further added: “Considering her health condition, Biman authorities had proposed altering the route to London–Dhaka–Sylhet instead of London–Sylhet–Dhaka, but she declined the proposal out of consideration for the inconvenience it would cause to other passengers.”
Earlier, on January 8, Khaleda Zia travelled to London for advanced medical treatment on a special air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar.
Upon arrival, she was admitted to London Clinic, where she received treatment under renowned specialists Professor Patrick Kennedy and Professor Jennifer Cross for 17 days.
Since then, she has been receiving care at her son Tarique Rahman’s residence. This time, after more than half a decade, Khaleda Zia celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr in London with her family. She has been spending time joyfully at her son’s home.
Meanwhile, Shamsuddin Didar said that preparations have been completed at her Gulshan residence, Firoza, in anticipation of her return.
He also mentioned that relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and law enforcement agencies, have been informed.
He further added that BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir sent a letter to the interim government’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain last week to inform them of Khaleda Zia’s planned return.
Following that, the government made arrangements for her return via the Bangladesh High Commissions in London and Doha.
In 2018, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was imprisoned in Dhaka Central Jail following her conviction in a corruption case. She spent four Eids in jail and at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital.
On August 5, following a student and public uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, President Md Shahabuddin issued an order granting her release.
The court later annulled the verdicts in the two corruption cases in which she had been imprisoned.
