A decision has yet to be taken on the appeal by Khaleda Zia’s family to allow the BNP chief to go abroad for treatment, according to Law Minister Anisul Huq.
He, however, said the request was being considered on humanitarian grounds.
The minister was speaking at a press conference at his Gulshan residence on Thursday.
Anisul Huq said he had received the file regarding the application and would give his opinion on the matter to the Home Ministry, but he would not be able to do so on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the family of ailing BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is all set to have her fly abroad for better treatment, provided the government relaxes the conditions of her release.
According to sources in the family, all preparations have been completed to send her to London via Singapore on a chartered flight.
Nearly four weeks after contracting coronavirus, Khaleda Zia’s test result returned negative on Thursday, Bangla Tribune reported citing a member of the BNP’s policymaking standing committee.
Also read - Report: BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s Covid-19 test returned negative
On Wednesday, the family of the former prime minister, who was hospitalized for Covid-19, appealed to the government to permit her to go abroad in order for her to receive better medical care.
"Khaleda Zia is currently undergoing treatment at a non-Covid unit," said her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain.
The BNP chairperson needed advanced treatment for various health complications, especially rheumatoid arthritis, as recommended by the medical board formed for her treatment, Dr Zahid added.
The BNP on Thursday said it hoped that the government would allow the party chief to go abroad for better treatment on humanitarian grounds.
Also read - Fakhrul to govt: Allow Khaleda to go abroad for treatment
“It is every citizen’s constitutional right to receive advanced medical care,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a party event.
On Tuesday, a medical board, comprising Khaleda Zia’s personal physicians and doctors at Evercare Hospital, where she has been undergoing treatment since April 27, suggested that the former prime minister be flown abroad for better treatment.
Dr Abdullah Al Mamun, a member of Khaleda Zia’s personal medical team, told Dhaka Tribune that even though her condition was stable, it might deteriorate any moment “as she had been suffering from various health problems for some time before contracting coronavirus”.
According to family sources, preparations are underway to take her to London, where her elder son Tarique Rahman lives with his family. Tarique has been in London since 2008 on medical grounds after securing parole in various cases.
The 76-year-old Khaleda Zia tested positive for Covid-19 twice in a month — on April 10 and April 24. Her blood report and CT scan results were normal.
She was moved to the coronary care unit (CCU) of Evercare Hospital on Monday as she was experiencing breathing problems. Her shortness of breath was caused by excess fluid accumulating in her lungs.
Khaleda Zia’s lawyers said she could travel abroad if the government relaxed the conditions of her release or lifted her sentence under Section 401 of the Penal Code.
Khaleda’s release
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order, suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
She was released from the prison cell of BSMMU the same day and has been staying at her Gulshan residence since then.
On August 27 last year, the government extended her release for six more months. It was extended again for another six months on March 15.
It may be recalled that on February 8, 2018, Khaleda Zia was lodged in the Old Dhaka Central Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The High Court later doubled her jail term.
The former prime minister was found guilty in another corruption case the same year.
The BNP maintains that both the cases are politically motivated.
