Zubaida lands in Dhaka, air ambulance delay pushes Khaleda's London transfer plan to Sunday
As a Qatari royal air ambulance has been delayed, ailing Khaleda Zia may now leave for London on Sunday
Dr Zubaida Rahman, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia's daughter-in-law, landed in Dhaka this morning (5 December).
Zubaida, wife of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and a member of Khaleda Zia's medical board, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:43am and is expected to proceed directly to Evercare Hospital to assess her mother-in-law's health before a planned medical flight to London, according to the BNP Media Cell.
By today, she was expected to have accompanied her ailing mother-in-law, Khaleda Zia, back to London for advanced medical treatment.
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However, the arrival of a royal air ambulance sent by the Qatari emir has been delayed. Hence, Khaleda Zia may now leave for London on Sunday (7 December).
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the air ambulance is not arriving today due to technical issues, according to a message sent to the media by BNP Media Cell Member Shairul Kabir Khan.
If everything goes well, it may arrive tomorrow, Fakhrul added.
"If Madam's [Khaleda] health permits travel and her medical board gives its approval, then, InshaAllah, she will fly out on the 7th [Sunday]," he said.
Khaleda's personal physician Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain had said yesterday that the BNP chief's transfer by a Qatari royal air ambulance was expected to take place by this morning.
Addressing a press briefing in the afternoon outside Evercare Hospital, where Khalda has been undergoing treatment, Dr Zahid confirmed that the decision for the urgent transfer had been made following consultations among all members of the medical board, which now includes the recently arrived specialist teams from China and the United Kingdom, as well as local doctors.
The former prime minister has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and kidney, lung, heart and eye problems.
On 23 November, Khaleda left her Gulshan residence, Firoza, for Evercare Hospital at around 7:30pm and has been receiving treatment there since then.
Earlier, on 8 January this year, Khaleda travelled to London. Upon arrival, she was admitted to the London Clinic, a private hospital, where she remained under the care of renowned specialists Prof Patrick Kennedy and Prof Jennifer Cross for 17 days.
From 25 January, she received treatment and stayed at the London residence of her eldest son Tarique. The BNP chief then returned to Dhaka on 6 May after four months in the UK.
