Dhaka: Bangladesh’s ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia returned home from London on Tuesday after four months of medical treatment, with her party leaders expressing hope that her presence will facilitate the restoration of democracy in the country ruled by an interim government.
Zia, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and three-time former premier, went to London on January 8 for advanced medical care and was admitted to The London Clinic. After being discharged, she moved to her eldest son Tarique Rahman’s residence, where she has been receiving treatment.
A Qatari royal air ambulance carrying the 79-year-old leader and her entourage from London landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, where Zia was greeted by senior BNP leaders.
Her two daughters-in-law - Tarique Rahman’s wife Zubaida Rahman and the late Arafat Rahman Coco’s wife Syeda Sharmila Rahman - accompanied her.
Zia smiled and waved from her wheelchair as thousands of supporters, many draped in Bangladesh and BNP flags and some carrying placards with welcome
messages, lined the streets leading to her residence at Dhaka’s Gulshan area. BNP supporters began assembling along both sides of the nearly 10-kilometre route since
early morning.
Zia has long suffered from liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, heart problems, diabetes, and arthritis.