The Chief of Army Staff General Waker-uz-Zaman, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Nazmul Hassan and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan visited BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at Evercare Hospital in the capital on Tuesday night.
The Army and Navy chiefs arrived at the hospital shortly after 8:30pm and enquired about her treatment. General Waker-uz-Zaman left the hospital a little after 9pm. Soon afterwards, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan reached the hospital. As of around 9:30pm, both the Navy and Air Force chiefs were still present there.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Inter Services Public Relation Directorate (ISPR) confirmed that the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force had visited the former prime minister at Evercare Hospital.
Security around Evercare Hospital had been strengthened amid Khaleda Zia’s ongoing treatment. Members of the Special Security Force (SSF), the President Guard Regiment (PGR), police and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed. The hospital’s main gate has been cordoned off with barbed-wire barricades.
Eighty-year-old Khaleda Zia has long been suffering from heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, kidney complications and other serious health issues. She was taken to Evercare Hospital on the night of 23 November after developing breathing difficulties. She is currently receiving treatment under a medical board comprising local and foreign specialists.
Her personal physician and BNP leader, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, told reporters in the afternoon that specialist doctors from the United Kingdom were arriving to assess her condition. “They will examine her. If they find her transferable, and if the medical board thinks it necessary, she will be taken abroad for advanced treatment,” he said.
Following news of her deteriorating health, BNP leaders and activists have gathered in front of Evercare Hospital, causing traffic disruption in the area. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has urged party supporters not to crowd the hospital premises.
