Ex-Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia on death bed: BNP leader

Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is currently in a "near death" situation "due to a lack of access to modern medical care overseas", the secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, has said.

Alamgir has accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of intentionally depriving Zia of advanced medical treatment overseas out of personal and political vendetta, "with the intention of leading the BNP chairperson to death", a report in Dhaka Tribune said on Sunday.

“It’s our misfortune that our leader Khaleda Zia is now in critical condition on her deathbed without receiving any (necessary) medical treatment (abroad),” the BNP leader said at a religious gathering.

"In completely fabricated cases, she has been imprisoned with the intention to remove her from politics. Although she was allowed to stay at home, she is actually under complete confinement and remains imprisoned," Fakhrul said calling out Hasina's regime as "oppressive fascist" government.

Khaleda fell ill while staying in Old Dhaka Central Jail, but no medical treatment was provided to her there, Dhaka Tribune quoted Alamgir as saying.

Describing the BNP chairperson's physical condition as "alarming," he said Khaleda Zia is enduring great suffering. “She now stands at the crossroads of life and death.”

Fakhrul urged opposition leaders and workers to wholeheartedly pray for Khaleda's well-being and her speedy recovery. "Not only must we pray for her, but we must also do whatever we can for her proper treatment."

Khaleda Zia was rushed to Evercare Hospital in an ambulance at around 3.30am on Saturday as she suddenly fell ill at her residence, 'Firoza' in Gulshan. She was quickly admitted to the CCU, where her medical treatment began under the supervision of a medical board, the Dhaka Tribune report added.

The former prime minister, aged 79, has long been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart, and eyes.