Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia arrived at her Gulshan residence, Firoza, at about 1:30pm on Tuesday after returning from London, where she had undergone four months of medical treatment.
The special aircraft, an air ambulance provided by the Qatari royal family, carrying Khaleda Zia landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka shortly after 10:30am.
She was accompanied by her two daughters-in-law 鈥� Zubaida Rahman, wife of Tarique Rahman, and Syeda Shamila Rahman, widow of Arafat Rahman.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other senior party leaders welcomed Khaleda Zia at the airport.
From airport, she travelled directly to her residence, Firoza, in Gulshan.
BNP leaders and activists gathered along the entire route from the airport to Gulshan to welcome her, lining the streets with national flags, party flags, flowers, banners, placards and photos of Khaleda Zia.
The airport road and surrounding areas echoed with slogans and chants in her support.
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 chairman, Tarique Rahman, personally drove his mother to Heathrow Airport from his London residence.
Khaleda Zia had left for London on January 8. 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 January 25 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 fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024, all cases against Khaleda Zia were dismissed through an executive order, clearing the way for her to travel abroad for medical treatment.