Khaleda Zia Greets People On Eid

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has greeted the countrymen on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. The party’s secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, after visiting the ailing former prime minister at her Gulshan residence said to the media.

The party’s top brass, including Fakhrul and several other Standing Committee leaders, paid a visit to Khaleda Zia at her residence in Dhaka around 8pm on Thursday.

Khaleda Zia last publicly exchanged Eid greetings at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital on June 26, 2017. 

Meanwgile the party has been demanding her unconditional release and permission to travel abroad for advanced treatment. She has been suffering from various illnesses and receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital.

After the visit, Fakhrul spoke to reporters and conveyed the party chief’s greetings on her behalf. “After she fell ill, we have always tried to avoid contacting her. But she calls us on Eid days. We talked to her. The conversations are just a courtesy,” he said.

Fakhrul stated that they do not discuss any political issues or prospects during such meetings.     

Alleging that Khaleda Zia has been jailed on political grounds, Fakhrul said: “We do demand her immediate release. 

“Let her avail of better treatment (abroad). I insist on this point in front of the people.”

Since Kjaleda Zia was sent to jail on February 8, 2018, the severity of her physical condition has fluctuated. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she went to the hospital several times after being released on condition by the government's executive order on March 25, 2020. She was freed on the condition that she would stay at her Gulshan house and not leave the country.

On March 27, the government, for the eighth time, extended the suspension of her jail term by another six months.