Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia has been admitted to the CCU of Evercare Hospital in Dhaka after doctors detected infections in her lungs and heart.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the party chief’s health condition on Friday, saying it was “very critical” and urging people to pray for her recovery.
The sharp deterioration in Zia’s health comes at a time when Bangladesh is preparing for national elections next year, with the BNP seen as being in a strong position in the absence of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Zia’s arch rival.
Fakhrul told the United News of Bangladesh that doctors had warned on Thursday night that Khaleda Zia’s condition had become “very critical.”
Zia, a two-time former prime minister, was admitted to Evercare Hospital on Sunday after developing heart and lung infections, according to The Daily Star. The BNP leader, the widow of former president and party founder Ziaur Rahman, served as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006.
Fakhrul said the BNP has called on supporters nationwide to offer special prayers for her recovery after Friday Juma prayers. “As part of this initiative, we prayed at the Nayapaltan Mosque, seeking blessings from Almighty Allah for her health,” he added.
Khaleda Zia returned to Dhaka on May 6 after four months of medical treatment in London, where she had been staying with her son Tarique Rahman since January. She had been under house arrest since 2019 but was acquitted of all charges after the Sheikh Hasina government was ousted on August 5, 2024.
Zia was earlier convicted in corruption cases and sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2018. She made her first public appearance last November at an Armed Forces Day event, where she met interim government chief Muhammad Yunus. Yunus later noted that she had not attended the event for almost a decade. She also met Yunus again during this year’s Armed Forces Day celebrations in Dhaka.
