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The special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar to transport BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to London is expected to be delayed after a “technical issue”, raising the possibility that her departure could slip past 10 am on Friday.
Zubaida Rahman, wife of Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman, departed London on Thursday, scheduled to arrive in Dhaka in time to accompany her mother-in-law back to the UK, bdnews24.com reports.
BNP sources indicated that these arrangements may slightly shift the overall schedule for Khaleda’s London transfer.
Khaleda has been receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital for 11 days.
On Thursday, her personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain announced at a briefing outside the hospital that the medical board overseeing her care had decided she should be flown to a designated hospital in London for advanced treatment.
Several specialist doctors, including two visiting from abroad, will accompany her on the flight.
Later in the afternoon, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir confirmed that the Qatar air ambulance fly in at night.
By 7:30pm, however, he told bdnews24.com that the air ambulance had encountered “technical problems”, causing a potential delay.
Rumours that Zubaida would travel to Bangladesh to accompany Khaleda were later confirmed by BNP Media Dell member Atikur Rahman Rumon.
Zubaida left London at 6pm UK time (midnight Bangladesh time) and is scheduled to land at Shahjalal International Airport at 9:30am Friday.
Khaleda Zia previously flew to London for treatment in the same air ambulance on Jan 7, admitted to a London clinic and later continued treatment at Tarique’s residence before returning to Bangladesh on May 6.
At that time, her daughters-in-law Zubaida and Syeda Shamila Rahman accompanied her. Zubaida, a medical professional herself, is also part of the medical board managing Khaleda’s treatment.