Khaleda Zia Flown To UK For Treatment, How Her Absence May Impact Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia flew to London on a special royal air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar on Tuesday for medical treatment. The three-time former Premier, who is the head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is reportedly suffering from ailments including liver cirrhosis, cardiac disease and kidney problems.

The 79-year-old leader left the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka late Tuesday. Before that, hundreds of her supporters gathered outside her residence in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan area to see her off, according to Dhaka Tribune. 

Her motorcade from her home to the airport reportedly took nearly three hours to cross about a 10-kilometre stretch, with scores of supporters trying to greet her on the way, creating traffic chaos. The journey was broadcast live by Bangladeshi television stations.

Ms Zia is the widow of Bangladesh’s former President Ziaur Rahman. In London, she would reportedly unite with her son Tarique Rahman, who has been residing in the United Kingdom, with his family since 2008. This would be reportedly the first reunion Ms Zia with her son, who is also BNP’s acting chairman,  in seven years and her first overseas trip since her release from jail.

The BNP chief was sentenced to 17 years in jail under ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule following two corruption cases stemming from 2001-2006 when she was prime minister. Her supporters claim the charges were politically motivated, an allegation Ms Hasina’s administration denied. 

Under Bangladesh’s interim government under Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Ms Zia was acquitted in one of the cases in November and an appeal in the second case is in court. 

Ms Zia left Dhaka on Tuesday on a special air ambulance sent by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, her personal physician, AZM. Zahid Hossain told the Associated Press.

Bangladesh’s Uncertain Future

The BNP leader left behind a South Asian nation grappling with uncertainty over its political future after the 15-year rule of her archrival Sheikh Hasina ended with her ousted in a student-led mass uprising in August 2024. Ms Hasina fled into exile in India as she and her close aides faced charges of killing hundreds of protesters during a mass protest movement that began in July.

Ms Zia’s party has been bargaining with the Yunus-led government for an election sometime this year. Yunus said his government wants to make some major reforms before planning a poll in December this year or in the first half of 2026.

The former Prime Minister’s departure could create a symbolic vacuum in the country’s politics amid efforts by a student group that led the anti-Hasina protest to form a new political party. In the absence of Ms Hasina and her secular Bangladesh Awami League party, the rise of Islamist political parties and other Islamist groups has been visible in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.