NN Online:
Former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has reached London, the capital of the UK for advanced medical treatment.
The air ambulance carrying her landed at Heathrow Airport via Doha, Qatar, at 2:58 pm (Bangladesh time) today (Jan 8).
Earlier, the special air ambulance, sent by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:46 pm.
Senior BNP leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, saw her off at the airport.
Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport, the BNP chief will head straight to The London Clinic for medical care.
Earlier, she left her Gulshan residence Feroza for the airport around 8:15pm and reached the airport at 10:50pm.
Speaking at the airport, Mirza Fakhrul said Khaleda Zia urged the country’s people to pray for her recovery.
Khaleda Zia and her son and party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman are going to reunite after a long time when they meet at the London airport today. They last met over seven years ago after Khaleda Zia went to London on 15 July 2017 for treatment and spent time with her family members.
On Monday, BNP Standing Committee member Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said Khaleda Zia would reach London via Doha and would be taken directly to The London Clinic, an advanced treatment centre in London, from Heathrow Airport.
He said acting BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman, her granddaughter Zaima Zarnaz Rahman and the party leaders from the UK unit will welcome Khaleda Zia upon her arrival at Heathrow Airport.
He said six members of the medical board formed for Khaleda Zia’s treatment in Dhaka – Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, Prof FM Siddique, Prof Nuruddin Ahmed, Dr Zafar Iqbal, Prof AZM Zahid Hossain and Dr Mohammad Al Mamun are accompanying Khaleda Zia in the air ambulance.
Besides, she is also accompanied by Syeda Sharmila Rahman, wife of her late son Arafat Rahman Koko, Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Executive Committee member Tabith Awal, and her Private Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, along with a few personal officials and employees.
Dr Zahid said doctors at The London Clinic will see her and then decide what the next course of action will be.
Khaleda Zia has long been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart and eyes.
