The medical board formed for the treatment of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at Evercare Hospital will hold a press conference on Monday to inform the public of her condition.
The briefing will take place at 9am on the 11th floor of the hospital, the BNP chief’s personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said on Sunday.
“Madam’s (Khaleda) condition is not good. The medical board will talk about her health condition tomorrow (Monday),” he said.
Former prime minister Khaleda Zia, 79, has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka under the supervision of a 15-member medical board, led by specialist doctor Professor Shahabuddin Talukder, since August 9.
She has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and kidney, lung, heart and eye problems.
One medical board member, wishing anonymity, said they have already told Khaleda’s family members and the BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir that a liver transplant at an advanced institution abroad is necessary to save her life.
He said the BNP chief’s heart and kidney problems are getting complicated due to liver cirrhosis. “Her condition is gradually deteriorating, and it will be difficult to save her life without an immediate liver transplant.”
On September 5, Khaleda Zia's brother Shamim Iskandar submitted an application to the government, seeking her unconditional release and permission to take her abroad for treatment at an "advanced medical centre" on an urgent basis to save her life.
However, the law ministry denied her permission to go abroad for better treatment, suggesting that she must first return to jail and then apply to the court concerned for permission.
Law Minister Anisul Huq at the time said there was no chance to open the petition, which had already been disposed of in line with Section 401 of the CrPC. “We gave the opinion that the petition disposed under Section 401 is a past and closed transaction. There is no scope to open it," he said.
However, some legal experts and pro-BNP lawyers think the government can still let her go overseas for treatment using its discretionary power.
On October 3, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the incumbent “cowardly” government wants to kill Khaleda Zia by not allowing her to receive treatment abroad.
Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order by suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, on the condition that she must stay at her Gulshan house and not leave the country. Later, the government extended the suspension of Khaleda’s sentence eight times.
