Khaleda Zia in very critical state: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Saturday that their party Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s condition is very critical.

Speaking to reporters at Evercare Hospital, he called on the country’s people to pray for her speedy recovery.

Fakhrul went to the hospital around 1:30 pm and talked to the medical board members about Khaleda’s condition.

The BNP chairperson has been receiving treatment at the Critical Care Unit (CCU) since she was admitted to the hospital early Saturday. Entry to the CCU has been restricted, except for medical board doctors and nurses, considering Khaleda‍‍`s alarming condition.

"I visited Evercare Hospital around 1:30 pm to see Madam (Khaleda). She is in the CCU. Her condition is extremely alarming, and doctors are restricting access to her room,” Fakhrul said.

The BNP leader said he talked to doctors engaged in Khaleda’s treatment to know her physical condition. “What I came to know from physicians is that her condition is very critical.”

He said the medical board members will hold another meeting in the evening to determine the next course of her treatment.

He appealed for prayers from the public, saying, "I urge everyone to pray for Madam‍‍`s early recovery. May Allah grant her good health."

Khaleda’s personal physician, Professor AZM Zahid Hossain, said Fakhrul visited the hospital and discussed with the medical board members the BNP chairperson’s health condition and treatment.

"Madam is under intensive observation in the CCU. The treatment is ongoing,” he said.

Khaleda Zia was rushed to Evercare Hospital in an ambulance around 3:30 am as she suddenly fell ill at her residence, ‍‍`Firoza‍‍` in Gulshan.

She was quickly admitted to the CCU, where medical treatment began under the supervision of the medical board.

The medical board members, led by specialist physician Professor Shahabuddin Talukdar, had several meetings to discuss the former Prime Minister‍‍`s current condition and her treatment.

Khaleda went to Evercare Hospital most recently on May 1 for a health check-up. During that visit, doctors treated her at the CCU for two days.

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

Since her conditional release from prison in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving medical care repeatedly at the hospital under the supervision of a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof. Shahabuddin Talukder.

Khaleda‍‍`s doctors have been advising sending her abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.

On October 26, last year, three US specialist doctors completed a hepatic procedure known as the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to stop water accumulation in Khaleda’s stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.