Dhaka, July 2 (V7N) – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia is set to return to her Gulshan residence this evening after a 10-day stay at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka.

According to her personal physician, AZM Zahid Hossain, Khaleda Zia will be discharged today (Tuesday) based on the medical board's advice. The decision was made after a thorough review of her health condition and latest medical reports. She will continue to receive proper treatment at home.

BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan confirmed that the BNP chief is scheduled to leave the hospital at 5 pm.

Khaleda Zia, 79, was admitted to Evercare Hospital in an ambulance at around 3:30 am on June 22 after suddenly falling ill at her Gulshan residence. A team of specialist doctors, led by Prof. Shahabuddin Talukder, successfully implanted a pacemaker in her chest the following day.

The former prime minister has been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to her kidney, lung, heart, and eyes. Since her conditional release from jail in 2020, she has frequently received treatment at the hospital under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof. Shahabuddin Talukder.

Khaleda Zia was imprisoned in Old Dhaka Jail after being sentenced to five years for the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. She was later found guilty in another corruption case the same year.

During the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with the condition that she stays in her Gulshan house and not leave the country. This order has been extended multiple times.

Since being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021, Khaleda's doctors have recommended sending her abroad for treatment. On October 26 last year, three US specialist doctors performed a hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) to stop water accretion in her stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.

END/SMA/DK/