Khaleda leaves for UK

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia left Dhaka for London last night for medical treatment.

However, her visit to the city is considered crucial in the political arena as she could make some important decisions -- about the polls-time government, the BNP's anti-government movement, and the party's strategy for the upcoming general elections, her relatives and sources in the BNP said.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said her stay would depend on how long the treatment takes.

The BNP chief would stay at her son Tarique Rahman's London home. Tarique, senior vice-chairman of the BNP, has been staying in London since 2008.

Party insiders said Khaleda might return after observing Eid-ul-Azha with her family there.

A source said the BNP chief would spend time with her son, two daughters-in-law and her three granddaughters in London. Her granddaughter Zaima Rahman is scheduled to graduate from University of London on July 18.

A relative of Khaleda said while visiting London the last time in 2015, the BNP chief removed cataract from one of her eyes. “This time she will have the operation in her other eye.”

Khaleda is also likely to call on top leaders of the UK and European countries and lobby to put pressure on the government to hold an inclusive election, sources added.

Khaleda left at 7:30pm yesterday with BNP leader Tabith Awal, her personal assistant Abdur Sattar and house help Fatema.

Several hundred party leaders and activists went to the airport to see her off, creating a huge traffic jam that caused a lot of people to suffer.

On Friday, the party's standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and BNP leader Rumeen Farhad left Dhaka for London.