Khoka in critical condition

Former mayor of undivided Dhaka City Corporation and BNP vice chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka is in critical condition and now fighting for life at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York.

“Khoka is now at the intensive care unit of the hospital where he was kept alive proving high levels of oxygen and he might be kept on life support anytime,” Khoka’s elder son Ishraque Hossain told The Daily Star this afternoon.

“Doctors have given up hope of improving health condition of my father and stopped all sorts of treatment,” Ishraque said.

Khoka, a freedom fighter, stepped into politics through Moulana Bhasani’s National Awami Party (NAP). Later, he joined BNP, and was made the party’s Dhaka city unit president.

Khoka was first elected MP in 1991. Later, he contested Dhaka City Corporation election in 2002 and was elected mayor. He held the post for nearly nine years.

“Condition of my father is deteriorating rapidly and doctors gave us option to keep him on life support but we declined as we could not meet him,” Ishraque Hossain told The Daily Star from New York over phone.

“My father wished us that he wanted to be buried beside his parents grave in Jurain after his death,” Ishraque said adding that he will try to collect travel documents to return home if anything is happened as his father and mother don’t have any passports there.

“I am optimistic that the government would not create any obstacle on his way to return home as he is a freedom fighter and he fought for the country. I hope government would cooperate us if anything happens,” he said.

Besides about the passports, Ahmed Hasan Mintu, a closest friend of Khoka, said on expiry of date, Khoka and his wife Israt Hossain submitted their passports to the Bangladesh consultant office in New York for renewing those two years back but they were not given those until today.

On May 14, 2014, Khoka, who was also fisheries and livestock minister, along with his wife went to the USA with travel visa for cancer treatment.