The day began with confident plans to airlift Khaleda Zia to London for advanced treatment on a Qatari air ambulance. By nightfall, the question was no longer when the BNP chairperson would fly, but whether she could fly at all.

The delay was first put down to a “mechanical fault” with the special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar. But by the end of the day, that explanation gave way to a more sobering admission from inside her party: her condition had deteriorated.

BNP leaders say she will only be flown out if her health improves enough for the medical board to clear her for a long-haul flight. The air ambulance will be called in only after doctors decide her body can withstand the strain of hours in the air.

On Friday, Khaleda’s elder daughter-in-law, Tarique Rahman’s wife Zubaida Rahman, arrived in Dhaka from London.

Zubaida, a physician by profession, is herself a member of Khaleda’s medical board. After landing in the morning, she went straight from the airport to Evercare Hospital in Bashundhara, where the former prime minister has been admitted since Nov 23.

FLIGHT PUSHED BACK AGAIN

Once the medical board decided that Khaleda should be taken to the United Kingdom for better treatment, the BNP announced, as in January, that she would be flown to London on a special air ambulance from the Emir of Qatar. The plan was for the aircraft to leave with her on Friday morning.

It was also announced that after her arrival in Dhaka, Zubaida would accompany Khaleda on the flight to London.

But after an initial rescheduling, the information that Zubaida and Khaleda would fly between Friday morning and midday was quietly revised in the morning.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told bdnews24.com earlier in the day, “Because of a mechanical fault, the air ambulance will not arrive on Friday. If all goes well, it may arrive on Saturday.

“If Madam’s condition is fit for travel and the medical board decides accordingly, then, God willing, she will fly on the 7th (Sunday).”

It also emerged in the morning that the same aircraft from the Emir’s personal royal fleet, which came earlier in the year, would not be sent this time.

The Qatar embassy confirmed that although the Emir’s royal fleet air ambulance would not be used, the Qatari government was hiring an air ambulance from a third country for her.

After Juma prayers, speaking to reporters at Naya Paltan Mosque, Mirza Fakhrul said: “[Khaleda Zia] is critically ill. Whether she can fly will be confirmed only by the doctors or the medical board. Once they confirm, she will be taken to London by air ambulance.

“The doctors are trying desparately… if the air ambulance arrives tomorrow, it will be possible to take her to London the day after tomorrow, that is, on Sunday.”

By late afternoon, however, word spread that the journey could be postponed again.

Later in afternoon, Asadur Rahman Asad, public relations officer at the Qatar Embassy in Dhaka, told bdnews24.com: “The Qatari government is hiring this air ambulance from a German company. It will come to Dhaka and then take Begum Zia to London.”

While the embassy initially indicated that the aircraft might arrive in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon, another source suggested there could be further delay.

“The preparations for the air ambulance to come on Saturday have not been made yet,” the source said. “It depends on Khaleda Zia’s medical team. But it is more or less certain it will not arrive on Saturday.”

Later at night, an embassy source said, based on the instructions of Khaleda’s medical team, the air ambulance might arrive in Dhaka by Tuesday. “But everything depends on [her] physical condition,” the source added.

A senior member of Khaleda’s medical team said her condition had not changed and that she remained in a critical state. The medical board met twice on Friday, at midday and in the evening, to review her health reports.

Khaleda’s personal physician Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said, “The board has ordered some tests. Those are being done. There is nothing more to say at this point.”

The 79-year-old former prime minister has long suffered from arthritis and diabetes, as well as complex problems involving her kidneys, liver, lungs, heart and eyes.

Since her release from prison in 2020, she has not taken part in any political programmes in person.

However, after undergoing treatment in London earlier this year, her return gave fresh impetus to the BNP. The party announced that she would contest three constituencies in the 13th parliamentary election due in February.

However, on the night of Nov 23, she was taken to hospital for a health check-up. Tests detected a lung infection and she was admitted. As her condition worsened, she was moved to the critical care unit.

After the government declared her a “Very Very Important Person” (VVIP), responsibility for the former prime minister’s security was handed to the Special Security Force and President’s Guard Regiment.

The chiefs of the three armed forces have visited her, as has Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman, who came to Evercare on Tuesday night. Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus followed on Wednesday night.

A 12-member medical board at Evercare led by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder has been overseeing her treatment. In recent days, several specialist doctors from China and the UK have also flown in to assist.

Around 11:30am on Thursday, the board met again at Evercare, joined by the foreign specialists. After the meeting, at about 2:40pm, Dr Zahid came before the media outside the hospital and announced that the board had decided Khaleda Zia should be taken abroad for treatment.