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Zubaida Rahman, the wife of Tarique Rahman and daughter-in-law of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, has arrived in Dhaka.
She landed at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport on board a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight around 10:45 am on Friday, according to Atikur Rahman Rumon, a BNP spokesman.
“Bhabi [Zubaida] arrived at 10:43 am. From here, she will go directly to Evercare Hospital,” he said.
Zubaida was welcomed at the airport by UK specialist Dr Richard Bailey, her elder sister Shahina Khan Zaman, her brother-in-law Air Commodore Syed Saifuzzaman, and Rumon, bdnews24.com reports.
She had left London aboard flight BG-302 around 6:00 pm local time on Thursday (12:00 am on Friday).
Rumon said she is to accompany her mother-in-law Khaleda to London on Qatar’s royal air ambulance. However, the trip has been deferred for the moment.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the air ambulance was experiencing technical issues. It will arrive on Saturday if the problem can be resolved soon, he added.
“If Madam (Khaleda) is fit to travel and the medical board approves, then, In Sha Allah, she will fly out on the 7th (Sunday).”
Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, Khaleda’s personal physician, said around midnight on Thursday that Khaleda was under close observation at Evercare Hospital’s Critical Care Unit.
Zubaida had previously accompanied the BNP chief on her trip to Dhaka from London on May 5. She then returned to London on June 5 after staying in Dhaka for a month.
Khaleda, the 79-year-old former prime minister, has spent the several in an “extremely critical” condition at the private Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. Doctors now say she is stable enough to travel.
Preparations for her transfer began after a medical board gave formal approval to move her abroad. The BNP and the country’s interim government have both called for special prayers across Bangladesh after Friday noon prayers for her recovery.
Dr Zahid said a hospital in London has been selected in consultation with local and foreign specialists. Several BNP figures say Khaleda’s son Tarique has agreed to the plan.
In January, Khaleda flew to London on the same Qatari air ambulance and was admitted to The London Clinic. After a period of hospital care, she continued her recovery at Tarique’s home.
By early May, her condition had improved enough for her to return to Dhaka on the same aircraft, again accompanied by Zubaida. It was Zubaida’s first trip to Bangladesh in 17 years.
Tarique, Zubaida, and their daughter Zaima Rahman went to London in 2008 for advanced treatment after his release from prison.