UK medical team joins effort in Dhaka to treat Bangladeshs critically ill ex PM Khaleda Zia

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A four-member specialist medical team from the UK arrived in Bangladesh on Wednesday to assist in the treatment of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who remains in a critical condition in a private hospital here.Bangladesh’s interim government directed Army and Air Force helicopters to conduct test landings near the hospital where Khaleda Zia is undergoing treatment.(Reuters)The delegation, led by Dr Richard Buell, visited Evercare Hospital soon after arrival and reviewed the condition of the 80-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, news portal tbsnews.net reported.The UK doctors also held an initial round of discussions with the local medical team treating her, it said, quoting hospital sources.Buell arrived in Dhaka in the morning, BNP media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency.

Khan hoped the arrival of foreign specialists will mark significant progress in Zia’s ongoing medical care.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s interim government directed Army and Air Force helicopters to conduct test landings near the hospital where Zia is undergoing treatment.A message from Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ Office said the “experimental landings and takeoffs would be carried out between 1200 and 1600 hours” on Thursday at two open fields near Evercare Hospital under the Special Security Force (SSF) protocol, news portal bdnews24.com reported. The interim government on Monday declared Zia a “very, very important person”, enabling the deployment of SSF for her protection. The Chief Adviser’s Office urged the public “to refrain from any kind of propaganda or confusion” regarding the drills.The directive coincided with the arrival of a four-member UK specialist team led by Dr Richard Buell, which reviewed the 80-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson’s condition and consulted the local medical team treating her.

They also held an initial round of discussions with the local medical team treating her, it said, quoting hospital sources.

According to vernacular daily Pratidin, Buell is a professor of intensive care medicine at King’s College London and a consultant in intensive care medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.The UK-based experts are in Dhaka to help formulate an advanced treatment plan and provide recommendations in coordination with the medical board.Another team of Chinese specialists is scheduled to arrive later in the day. A Chinese medical team had already reached Dhaka on Monday and joined the medical board supervising Zia’s treatment. The board is led by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.Zia’s personal physician and BNP standing committee member Dr AZM Zahid told reporters on Tuesday that she is “maintaining the treatment” being administered despite her critical state.

He, however, reiterated that there was no scope to take the former premier abroad at this stage.

Hossain said India, China, the US, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan have also extended their medical assistance.Meanwhile, in a rare joint public visit, the chiefs of three armed services met the ailing former prime minister at the hospital on Tuesday.Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan, and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan visited Zia at Evercare Hospital, the military’s media wing said in a brief statement.According to news portal bdnews24.com, their vehicles were seen entering the hospital’s main gate around 9 pm. The three service chiefs stayed inside briefly and left shortly after 9:20 pm.Quoting Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) media cell member Shairul Kabir Khan, the state-run BSS news agency said the chiefs spoke with Zia’s family members and her medical team, and offered prayers for her recovery.Later in the night, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman also visited the 80-year-old ailing BNP chairperson.The three-time prime minister was admitted to the private hospital on November 23 after being diagnosed with infections affecting her heart and lungs.

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She was moved to the coronary care unit four days later as her complications worsened.

Her condition deteriorated further, and she was placed on ventilation on Sunday night, BNP Vice-Chairman Advocate Ahmed Aazam Khan had said.Security was tightened around Zia on early Tuesday. She is currently staying in a cabin on the fourth floor, where surrounding cabins have been vacated as part of heightened security protocols.Special prayers for Zia’s recovery are being held across Bangladesh, including in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chattogram, Barishal, Sylhet and Mymensingh, by BNP units and supporters.

Many supporters also took to social media to post prayers and messages wishing her a swift recovery.

BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters late Monday that Zia’s son and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who has been living in self-exile in London for over a decade, “will return to Bangladesh soon”.His remarks followed a meeting of the BNP’s top decision-making body, which also discussed the current political situation and strategies for the upcoming election campaign.BNP has re-emerged as the frontrunner in Bangladesh’s changed political landscape after a student-led violent street protest toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024According to BNP leaders, Rahman, who has been in London since 2008, is awaiting the issuance of a new Bangladeshi passport, as he is unwilling to use a one-time travel pass offered by the interim government.At a press conference on Monday, Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said Rahman is not registered as a voter in Bangladesh but may do so if permitted by the EC.