Special Correspondent //

The visa process for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to travel to London for treatment has begun. Recently, many potential companions have started the visa process with her. The exact time when the former prime minister will leave by plane will be decided by the medical board. Sources say that a team of at least 15 people is going to London with Khaleda Zia. A letter has already been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Sources close to the BNP Chairperson’s family say that the visa process for Khaleda Zia to travel to London for advanced treatment has begun. Her potential companions include family members, personal doctors, members of the medical board, personal assistants, nurses and one or more important leaders from the party.

Sources say that in the wake of sending a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain told reporters on October 30 that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will go to the UK and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide assistance in obtaining a visa to that country.

Khaleda Zia left for London on July 16, 2017, carrying four warrants for her arrest, and returned to the country on October 18 of that year. At that time, she received treatment from Dr. Hadley Barry in the UK. The following year, on February 8, 2018, Zia went to jail in an ACC case related to the Orphanage Trust.

After the change of power on August 5 of this year, President Md. Shahabuddin ordered the release of Begum Zia, who was undergoing treatment at Ever Care, the next day (August 6).

Although the visa process has begun, it is not yet decided when Khaleda Zia will board the plane. Reliable party sources say that after the visa process is completed, the members of the medical board will decide when she will leave.

In this regard, an important leader of the BNP’s international relations department said that the date of the trip has not yet been decided. The processing has started, and it may be known soon. Khaleda Zia’s personal physician and medical board member Dr. Zahid Hossain has already said that the process of taking Khaleda Zia to a multidisciplinary hospital abroad has begun very quickly, depending on her physical condition.

Speaking to reporters on October 29, Professor Zahid mentioned that Khaleda Zia will first be taken to London in a ‘long distance specialized air ambulance’ for advanced treatment. Then from there, she will be taken to a multidisciplinary medical center in a third country. It is believed that the third country is America. However, since there is such an opportunity in Germany, the BNP Chairperson can also go there from London.

Last July 7, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare when her physical condition deteriorated. Then she returned to her residence on the evening of August 21. Earlier, she returned home on January 11 after receiving treatment in the hospital for 156 days.

After being sentenced and imprisoned in an ACC case in 2018, Khaleda Zia developed various physical complications. Later, she was allowed to stay at home under special consideration. The 78-year-old former prime minister has been suffering from various diseases including arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and liver cirrhosis for a long time. She has already undergone treatment in several hospitals.

During the previous Awami League government, the former government did not accept letters and calls to take Khaleda Zia abroad. The family made several requests to the government, but permission was not granted.

In such a situation, on October 27, 2023, three specialist doctors from the United States were brought in to perform a surgery on the BNP leader’s blood vessel at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.