Family wants to send ‘ailing' Khaleda abroad, says Selima


FE Team | Published: October 25, 2019 20:23:31 | Updated: October 28, 2019 20:49:59


Family wants to send ‘ailing' Khaleda abroad, says Selima

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s sister Selima Islam on Friday said they want to send the former prime minister abroad for better medical care as she is ‘seriously sick’, reports UNB.

Talking to reporters after meeting her sister at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Selima said, “Her sister's (Khaleda’s) health condition is very bad. She can’t move as her legs have got bent. She’s even having trouble in lying down in bed. We want to send her abroad for better treatment.”

Asked whether the BNP chief wants to go abroad, she said Khaleda Zia did not tell them anything about it, “But we (family members) want to send her abroad due to her deteriorating health condition.”

Selima alleged that Khaleda’s health condition is not improving rather its deteriorating day by day as she is not getting proper treatment at the BSMMU.

She also claimed that doctors neither visited Khaleda for nearly two weeks nor provided her any treatment. “So, why have she been kept here (BSMMU) unnecessarily? We want to take her abroad for better treatment.”

Replying to a question, Selima said Khaleda wants to be freed on bail, not parole.

She voiced serious concern over her sister’s condition as she said Khaleda cannot stand up and sit down. “Even, she can’t lift her hand to eat and do anything without anybody’s help.”

Six family members, including Selima, her younger brother Shamim Eskandar’s wife Kaniz Fatema, son Ovik Eskandar, Tarique Rahman’s sister-in-law Shahina Khan Zaman Bindu, Syed Eskandar’s son Autnu Eskandar and grandson , went to meet Khaleda around 3:30pm and had over an hour-long meeting, said BNP chairperson's media wing member Shamsuddin Didar.

Khaleda has been in jail since being convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. She was found guilty in another corruption case later the same year, though her party claims both cases are politically motivated.

The BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the BSMMU since April 1 this year.

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