Bangladesh Nationalist Party chair Begum Khaleda Zia returned home on Tuesday morning after receiving a four-month advanced medical treatment in London.
She landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport shortly after 10:30am on a special air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar 鈥� the same aircraft that had carried her to London on 8 January for treatment.
The BNP chair was accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, Zubaida Rahman, wife of Tarique Rahman, and Syeda Shamila Rahman, widow of Arafat Rahman.
Thousands of party leaders and activists, carrying national flags, party flags, flowers, banners, placards and her photos, lined the entire route from the airport to Gulshan to welcome her back home.
After landing, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other senior party leaders welcomed Khaleda Zia at the airport.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Fakhrul Islam said that Khaleda Zia鈥檚 return would facilitate Bangladesh鈥檚 transition to democracy, and help take the country on the right and non-discriminatory path.
A motorcade accompanied the BNP chair鈥檚 vehicle from the airport at around 11:40 am to her residence at Gulshan.
Although the BNP had urged its leaders and activists to stay off the roads and remain on the footpaths along the route to allow Khaleda Zia to travel swiftly, a large crowd gathered on the streets too.
Pushing through the crowd, the BNP chair reached her Gulshan residence, Firoza, at around 1:30pm, where she got out of the car and slowly walked into the house with the help of her daughters-in-law and others.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia enters her Gulshan HOUSE 鈥楩eroza鈥� on foot as she returns home from London Tuesday morning.听听鈥� Star Mail photo
In fornt of Firoza, the BNP chair鈥檚 physician AZM Zahid told reporters that while the 14-hour journey and road travel had left Khaleda Zia physically exhausted, her mental state remained stable.
On behalf of the top BNP leader, Zahid expressed gratitude to the people of Bangladesh, party leaders and activists, the interim
government, various government agencies, and the Emir of Qatar for their support in her treatment.
鈥榃henever the nation calls, Begum Khaleda Zia will stand to lead,鈥� said Zahid, who is also a BNP standing committee member.
Citing the arrival of Zubaida Rahman alongside Khaleda Zia, Zahid hinted that further preparations were under way for Tarique Rahman鈥檚 eventual return.
Khaleda Zia left for London on 8 January. Upon arrival, she was admitted to the London Clinic under the care of specialist doctors Professor Patrick Kennedy and Professor Jennifer Cross.
She received continuous treatment at the clinic for 17 days and, from 25 January onwards, continued her recovery at the residence of her elder son, Tarique Rahman.
The 79-year-old BNP chief has been suffering from multiple health complications, including liver cirrhosis, heart disease, and kidney problems.
BNP had long demanded that she be permitted to seek treatment abroad, but the previous Awami League government repeatedly rejected the appeals, citing legal constraints linked to her convictions in two corruption cases.
However, following the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid a student-led mass uprising on 5 August 2024, all cases against Khaleda Zia were dismissed under an executive order, clearing the way for her to travel abroad for medical treatment.
The special flight carrying Khaleda Zia and her entourage departed London鈥檚 Heathrow Airport at 9:35pm Bangladesh time on Monday.
The party鈥檚 acting chair, Tarique Rahman, personally drove his mother to Heathrow Airport from his London residence.
