Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia. File.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Accusing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of a “personal political vendetta” against her predecessor and political rival Khaleda Zia, a senior leader from her party on June 23 claimed she is on her “deathbed” as she has been deprived of advance medical treatment abroad.

A report in The Daily Star said that Ms. Zia, 78, was rushed to Evercare Hospital here in an ambulance around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday as she suddenly fell ill at her residence, ‘Firoza’ in Gulshan.

Ms. Hasina’s action is a result of “personal political vendetta,” Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged and said, “It’s our misfortune that our leader Khaleda Zia is now in critical condition on her deathbed without receiving any (necessary) medical treatment (abroad).” She was quickly admitted to the CCU, where her medical treatment began under the supervision of a medical board.

The BNP leader further alleged that Ms. Zia has been imprisoned for a long period due to the vindictiveness of the current “oppressive fascist” government, the news portal said.

Ms. Zia, who was the prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and then again from 2001 to 2006, fell ill while staying in Old Dhaka Central Jail, but no medical treatment was provided to her there, he said.

“Although she was allowed to stay at home, she is actually under complete confinement and remains imprisoned,” he said.

“The BNP chief complained repeatedly, but the government did not pay heed and did not provide her with medical care. Later, when she was taken to the hospital (by the jail authorities), she did not receive any proper treatment there either,” Alamgir said.

“The medical board has consistently stated that treating Khaleda’s illness here in Bangladesh is not possible, she requires treatment at a multidisciplinary hospital in a developed country,” Alamgir said.

“But Sheikh Hasina out of her personal political vendetta has denied Khaleda access to better medical treatment to kill her and to remove her from politics,” he alleged.

In this December 28, 2017, file photo, Bangladesh’s former PM and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia, center, leaves after a court appearance in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladeshi doctors said on October 9 opposition leader Khaleda Zia was at “high risk” of dying without urgent medical intervention abroad after authorities rejected a plea to let her leave the country.

Ms. Zia, 78, is a two-time former Prime Minister who heads the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and has been living under effective house arrest since her release from a 17-year prison sentence in 2020.

She has advanced liver cirrhosis, diabetes and heart problems and the government of her bitter rival, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, last week rejected a family request to allow her to travel to Germany for a liver transplant.

Also Read: Bangladesh bars ill opposition leader from healthcare abroad

Ms. Zia and Ms. Hasina, 77 are known as the Battling Begums of Bangladesh politics and their internecine rivalry has dominated the politics of the South Asian nation of 170 million people for over four decades.

A panel of 17 doctors who treated Ms. Zia at a top private hospital in the Bangladeshi capital for the last two months backed the family, saying her condition was deteriorating.

“She’s at high risk of death,” hepatologist Nooruddin Ahmad told reporters.

The group said she had developed infections and breathing problems, and its head, F. M. Siddiqui, added that all options in Bangladesh “have come to an end, we cannot do anything more”.

The country is gearing up for general elections due in January, and Ms. Zia’s death would likely trigger huge opposition protests.

Ms. Hasina faces mounting pressure from Western powers to hold free and fair elections, which could set the stage for a comeback by Ms. Zia’s resurgent BNP.

The U.S., the EU and rights groups have expressed concern over the political climate in a country where Ms. Hasina has been in power for the last 15 years and her Awami League party dominates the legislature, running it virtually as a rubber stamp.

In 2018, Ms. Zia was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft, and jailed for two years before being released under heavy restrictions. She has rejected the charges as politically motivated.

Kayser Kamal, legal chief for BNP, slammed the government’s decision to bar her from leaving as an act of “political vengeance”.