Voicing deep concern over the life of its ailing party chairperson Khaleda Zia, the BNP standing committee has urged the government to remove all barriers to ensure her treatment at an advanced centre abroad.
Speaking at a press conference, party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also said it is now clear that the government wants to kill its main opponent Khaleda ahead of the national election by depriving her of necessary treatment overseas.
Like the people of the country, he said the BNP leaders, workers, members and supporters at all levels, have become worried over the statements of Khaleda’s doctors on her physical condition and treatment.
“Our party’s National Standing Committee strongly demanded the government to immediately remove the inhumane obstacles imposed on the way to taking our leader (Khaleda) to any country where good treatment is possible to save her life,” Fakhrul said.
He said the BNP standing committee, the highest policymaking body of the party also strongly condemned and protested the 'sick' attempts of the Prime Minister and her cabinet colleagues to satiate their political vengeance against Khaleda by making indecent, cruel, and inhumane statement on the conditions of suspension of her sentence, her age and illness and by giving an irrational and wrong interpretation of the existing laws.
The press conference was held at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office to inform the media about the outcome of the party’s standing committee meeting held on Monday.
Fakhrul said their standing committee strongly felt that just as Khaleda was unjustly evicted from her cantonment residence out of political vendetta, similarly an attempt was made to push her to death without treatment and with deliberate wrong by sending her to an abandoned jail through a dictated verdict for no crime she committed.
He said the Prime Minister’s comment on dropping the BNP chief into the river from the Padma Bridge and her recent comment that there is no point in crying for a nearly 80-yer-old moribund person have demonstrated the current 'usurper' regime did not want to see her alive.
“No civilized, humane, and sound common citizen, let alone the head of government of any country, can utter such terroristic words about any opponent. It is natural for the government-- that wants the death of our leader--to unjustly obstruct her advanced treatment. But this attitude and behaviour of the government is not acceptable to the country’s people,” the BNP leader said.
He warned that the government must face the wrath of the people if anything bad happens to Khaleda for depriving her of the scope to get the treatment she deserves.
Replying to a question Fakhrul said they have been observing programmes after programmes demanding Khaleda’s unconditional release to pave the way for her treatment abroad. “The complications over Khaleda Zia’s treatment (abroad) have clearly manifested that they (govt) want to kill her. Not giving her any scope to receive treatment means killing her ahead of the national election.”
He said their movement will be intensified further in the days to come to force the government to step down.
Earlier on the day, the medical board formed at Evercare Hospital for Khaleda’s treatment recommended that she be urgently sent to a multidisciplinary centre abroad soon as there are now no treatment options available for her in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a press conference at the hospital, the board also said the 78-year-old former prime minister’s life is at risk because of a lack of proper treatment to stop water accretion in her stomach and chest, internal bleeding and infections caused by her liver cirrhosis problem.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, the 78-year-old former prime minister, has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka under the supervision of a 15-member medical board, led by a specialist doctor, Professor Shahabuddin Talukder, since August 9.
She has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, and eye problems.
On September 5, Khaleda’s brother Shamim Iskandar submitted an application to the government to take her abroad for treatment, but it was turned down.
