Momen: Khaleda can bring any doctor from abroad

BNP leader Khaleda Zia is allowed to bring any doctors from abroad and she is free to take treatment anywhere in the country, Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen said on Monday.

He said the government wants to uphold the rule of law in the country.

Dr. Momen made the remarks while briefing reporters at the State guesthouse Padma.

Earlier, he briefed diplomats stationed in Dhaka on a number of current issues including Khaleda Zia's treatment and the upcoming World Peace Conference to be held in Dhaka in the first week of December.

Previously on 20 November, Law Minister Anisul Huq also said the government will have no objection if BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's family and the political party want to bring home any specialized doctor from abroad.

After being convicted in a graft case, the former prime minister landed in jail in February 2018. Following the outbreak of Covid-19, the government on 25 March last year granted her temporary release on conditions at the request of her family.

Her family and BNP have been vocal since then to allow Khaleda to avail treatment abroad. But the government says she cannot leave the country as per the conditions of the temporary release.

The 76-year-old BNP chief has been suffering from arthritis, diabetes, and several eye issues for many years. She got infected with coronavirus in April this year while staying at her Gulshan residence.

On 27 April, she was admitted to Evercare Hospital owing to post-Covid complications. She then had been in the critical care unit (CCU) for about two months. In the third week of June, she was discharged and then got admitted to the hospital again after around four months.

In the last week of November this year, Khaleda's doctors at a press conference said not only was she diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, but has also started passing blood.

While elaborating her medical conditions, the doctors said Khaleda needs TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt) technology to intervene and this is available in some specific advanced centers in the USA, UK, and Germany.