Former two-time Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia has left the nation for the first time in seven years for medical treatment in London after being released from house arrest following her rival Sheikh Hasina’s resignation last year.
Ms Zia, 79, chairwoman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was the country's first female prime minister but was convicted in graft cases in 2018 under Ms Hasina’s government.
She left the capital Dhaka on a special royal air ambulance sent by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim, one of her advisers Zahiruddin Swapan told the media.
A team of local and Qatari doctors, family members, and other staff accompanied the leader on the flight. She would be seeking treatment at a London clinic. State news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha quoted her doctors as saying that her treatment in London was expected to take a few months.
Thousands of her supporters gathered outside her house in Dhaka’s Gulshan area, turning the 10km journey to the airport into three hours. Her departure was broadcast live on television.
Ms Zia served as the country’s first female prime minister between 1991 and 1996, followed by another five-year term from 2001 to 2006.
However, she was charged with dozens of corruption cases in the following years, including under the three-year military rule from 2006 and during her rival Ms Hasina’s 16-year term. She was convicted in two cases of corruption in 2018 and was sentenced to a 17-year jail term.
Ms Zia served two years in Dhaka jail until 2020 when she was released during Covid-19 pandemic. The courts later suspended her sentence over her poor health but she remained under house arrest in Dhaka.
She was acquitted by the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in some of the cases while at least seven cases are pending before the courts.
She has been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, heart disease and kidney ailments and last visited London in 2017 for treatment and to see her self-exiled son, politician Tarique Rahman.
Ms Zia has maintained that the cases against her were politically motivated. She had asked the Hasina administration to allow her to the treatment abroad, which she claimed was never approved.
The former prime minister has been one of the central figures in the country’s politics but was largely sidelined during the rule of rival Ms Hasina, who fled to India in August last year when thousands of protesters stormed her residence in Dhaka during a student-led civil agitation that left hundreds of people dead.
Ms Zia’s departure from the country comes at a time when the country is in a political transition and slated for big-ticket reforms under the interim government of Dr Yunus.
The BNP has been pushing for elections to be held in December this year, with Mr Rahman, expected to return to the country to lead the party in the national elections that political commentators say will go in the favour of the BNP after a 15-year-long ironclad rule of Ms Hasina's Awami League government.
The years Ramadan fell in May
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
More on animal trafficking
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The years Ramadan fell in May
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The five pillars of Islam
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The years Ramadan fell in May
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
More coverage from the Future Forum
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
12%20restaurants%20opening%20at%20the%20hotel%20this%20month
%3Cp%3EAriana%E2%80%99s%20Persian%20Kitchen%3Cbr%3EDinner%20by%20Heston%20Blumenthal%3Cbr%3EEstiatorio%20Milos%3Cbr%3EHouse%20of%20Desserts%3Cbr%3EJaleo%20by%20Jose%20Andres%3Cbr%3ELa%20Mar%3Cbr%3ELing%20Ling%3Cbr%3ELittle%20Venice%20Cake%20Company%3Cbr%3EMalibu%2090265%3Cbr%3ENobu%20by%20the%20Beach%3Cbr%3EResonance%20by%20Heston%20Blumenthal%3Cbr%3EThe%20Royal%20Tearoom%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.