BNP Standing Committee members will meet party Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Sunday night, ahead of her scheduled trip to London for medical treatment on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled to be held at Khaleda’s Gulshan residence at 8pm, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan. According to sources at BNP, Khaleda Zia is expected to leave Dhaka on January 7 (Tuesday) at 10pm for London, from where she will travel to the United States for further treatment. “If no major complications arise, she will leave Dhaka at 10pm on Tuesday via a Qatar Airways air ambulance bound for London,” said a BNP leader close to Khaleda. Army chief meets Khaleda Zia During her way back home, he said the BNP chief may also perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia. This will be Khaleda Zia’s second overseas medical trip, following her 2017 visit to London for treatment. This will be her first reunion with her son Tarique Rahman in seven years, and her first overseas visit since she was freed from jail. Despite her declining health, the Awami League government had repeatedly denied her permission to travel abroad for treatment. Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, she was fully freed under executive order, paving the way for her abroad treatment. Khaleda Zia, who has been suffering from liver cirrhosis, requires a liver transplant, which is expected to take at least two months. After her stay in London, she will continue treatment at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, USA. Earlier on December 25, Khaleda’s personal physician, Prof AZM Zahid Hossain, told UNB, that “Madam (Khaleda) may travel to London on January 7 if she remains fit for the air journey." Her medical team said that all arrangements have been made for her treatment at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University Hospital in East Baltimore, Maryland. Khaleda Zia, 79, has been battling multiple health issues, including liver cirrhosis, diabetes, arthritis, and complications involving her kidneys, lungs, heart, and eyes. Her doctors have been advocating for her overseas treatment since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in late 2021. Khaleda likely to travel to London for treatment on Jan 7 Last year, on October 26, a team of three specialist doctors from the United States performed the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure to address fluid accumulation in her stomach and chest, as well as liver bleeding. In an effort to accompany her during the trip, a 15-member delegation will travel with the BNP chief, including her late son Arafat Rahman Koko's wife, Syeda Sharmila Rahman, several physicians, BNP leaders, personal staff, and two housemaids. A senior BNP leader said Khaleda Zia’s office has already informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding her treatment abroad, including the details of the accompanying delegation. BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his family have been living in London since 2008. In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government temporarily released her on an executive order, suspending her sentence on the condition that she remain at her Gulshan residence and not leave the country. On August 6, 2023, Khaleda Zia was fully freed by an order from President Mohammed Shahabuddin.

BNP senior leader Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan on Saturday urged politicians to take lessons from the downfall of autocratic rulers like Sheikh Hasina and her subsequent escape. “The students and the masses brought about a positive change in Bangladesh's politics through the revolution, ending the one-and-a-half-decade-long autocratic rule,” he said at a civic reception. The people of Morrelganj Upazila organised the event at the Morrelganj Azizia Secondary School ground to honour BNP Central Committee Education Affairs Secretary Prof ABM Obaidul Islam for his appointment as Vice Chancellor of the Open University. Dr Moyeen, a member of the BNP Standing Committee, said autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina and many Awami League leaders were forced to flee the country in the face of the student-led mass revolution. BNP expels Lalbagh Ward leader over extortion “We must realise why they (autocrats) had to flee the country and take a lesson from it,” the BNP leader said, pointing at the political parties. He said an interim government was established in Bangladesh as students, alongside the masses, paved the way for it by sacrificing their lives. Dr Moyeen said the interim government has been working to transform Bangladesh into a liberal democratic country. “I want to remind everyone that if you wish to secure the country's interests, you must sacrifice your own. I won’t be able to protect the country’s interests if I focus on personal gains. He also said it is essential for all to accept that the new generation and the students are the future of the nation. “The students took to the streets, leaving their classrooms, to protest against injustice, and they succeeded in their struggle.” Dr Moyeen urged the students to now return to their classrooms to complete their unfinished studies. “They will undoubtedly lead the country in the future and become leaders, ministers, MPs, Prime Ministers, and Presidents.” Political parties talk about democracy but fail to practise: Fakhrul He acknowledged that it is an undeniable fact that the students will form political parties, but they must first develop the qualities required to lead the country. The BNP leader also claimed that BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has been working to nurture new leadership from the younger generation. Dr Moyeen observed that a country like Bangladesh must prioritise education above all else in order to achieve true development.