UNB, Dhaka :
A delegation of pro-BNP lawyers on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to Law Minister Anisul Huq seeking the government’s permission to send ailing Khaleda Zia abroad for treatment.
They argued that there is no legal obstruction for the government in allowing Khaleda to go abroad.
The delegation, led by Advocate Fazlur Rahman, member secretary of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum (BJAF), met the Law Minister at his secretariat office around 1:45pm and submitted the memorandum to him.
In the memorandum, the lawyers said the BNP chairperson and three-time (former) Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has been receiving treatment in Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Evercare Hospital in a critical condition.
They said the specialist doctors who are treating her have already given an opinion to send her abroad for advanced treatment. “We the lawyers are concerned over the deterioration of health condition of the country’s three-time former Prime Minister…we think it’s imperative to allow her to go abroad for advanced treatment in a bid to save her life.”
They mentioned that the government released Khaleda as per section 401 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) with two conditions and the tenure of her release was extended thrice.
“She didn’t violate any condition so far. The government can anytime make an arrangement for Khaleda Zia’s treatment abroad by issuing a fresh gazette notification without imposing any condition under section 401 (1)or issuing a new order under subsection 6 of 401. In this case, there’s no legal barrier. Rather, such a decision of the government will be lawful,” the lawyers said.
Under the circumstances, they hoped that the government would demonstrate its generosity by taking necessary steps for sending Khaleda abroad for better treatment.
Khaleda, a 76-year-old former prime minister, was readmitted to Evercare Hospital on 13 November, six days after she had returned home from the hospital.
The BNP chief’s physicians said she has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, critical cardiac, kidney ophthalmological and dental complications. The hemoglobin level in her blood has also dropped.
On behalf of the family, Khaleda’s younger brother, Shamim Iskander, submitted an application to the Home Ministry on 11 November urging the government to allow her to go abroad for better treatment.
Law Minister Anisul Huq, however, recently said the BNP chairperson first has to make a fresh application by going back to jail to go abroad for treatment.
