Begum Khaleda Zia left Dhaka for London to seek advanced medical treatment on Tuesday. Photo: Collected
BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has left Dhaka for London to seek advanced medical treatment.
She departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 11:10 PM on Tuesday.
Prior to that, Khaleda Zia's motorcade set off from her Gulshan residence, 'Firoza,' towards the airport around 8:12 PM and arrived at 10:45 PM on Tuesday (January 7).
At that time, a large number of leaders and workers of BNP and its front organizations gathered outside her house to see off their beloved leader.
According to the party, Khaleda Zia boarded a special flight, the "Royal Air Ambulance," which was sent by the Emir of Qatar. The air ambulance took off from Dhaka to London, with a brief stopover in Doha.
The flight is expected to land at Heathrow Airport in London on Wednesday (January 8), at 10 AM Bangladesh time. She will meet her son Tarique Rahman in London after long seven and a half years.
Earlier, supporters began gathering in Gulshan from the afternoon to bid farewell to Khaleda Zia ahead of her departure. They expressed hope that she would return to Bangladesh soon after receiving treatment. Later in the evening, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir entered her residence to offer his farewell.
Along the route from Gulshan to the airport, BNP leaders, workers, and other well-wishers gathered on both sides of the road to bid farewell to the former Prime Minister, waving their hands in a gesture of goodwill.
Khaleda Zia had previously traveled to London on July 16, 2017, for follow-up treatment for her eyes and legs. She returned to Bangladesh but was later imprisoned in early 2018 on charges related to multiple corruption cases.
