BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia with her daughter-in-law Dr. Zubaida Rahman. File photo

DHAKA, May, 3, 2025 (BSS) - BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia will return Dhaka by an air ambulance provided by the Emir of Qatar, not by a Bangladeshi plane.

She will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka from London on May 5, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He was addressing a press conference after a joint meeting at the BNP Chairperson's political office in Gulshan this evening.

Khaleda Zia will be accompanied by her two daughters-in-law -- Dr. Zubaida Rahman and Shamila Rahman.

Mirza Fakhrul said Khaleda Zia has undergone treatment in London for four months. "By the grace of Allah, Madam is now feeling much better than before. That's why she has now decided to return the country," he said.

"We cannot say the time for sure as this time will depend on different countries. Whenever we are sure of this, we will again convey the information to the people through the media," he added.

Mirza Fakhrul said, "Naturally, there is emotion in us. Every patriotic person is very excited that their beloved leader will return the country. It is our moral duty to welcome her. Not only BNP, but the people of the whole country are ready to welcome her," he said.

He further said, "We will appeal to the party leaders and workers to welcome this great leader with utmost discipline without creating any traffic jams on both sides of the road. We have advised that we will welcome her with the national flag in one hand and the party flag in the other."

The BNP Secretary General said, "We will appeal to everyone to try to go on the elevated expressway after she arrives. That is, they should take a position on the elevated expressway from the airport to Kakali, excluding the road below. I believe the people will cooperate with us and welcome their leader".

Regarding Begum Khaleda Zia, Mirza Fakhrul said, "Among the two women leaders of the Asian continent, one of the two who have sacrificed the most for democracy and who have been persecuted the most, is our national leader Begum Khaleda Zia. She never bowed down to injustice, especially fascism".

"when her husband, martyred President Ziaur Rahman, declared independence in 1971, she came to Dhaka with her two young sons. Upon arriving in Dhaka, she was arrested by the Pakistani army. She was imprisoned in the Pakistani cantonment for nine months. This great fearless leader, who never compromised on the issue of sovereignty of independence, who never compromised on the issue of democracy, was sent to prison on a false case by the fascist Hasina government and treated Bangladesh in a very sick condition," he added.

"Later, after the student uprising, she went to the UK for treatment. We have not seen a female leader who made such sacrifices like her. She is not only dear to us, she is our great asset," Fakhrul added.

He said, "The national leader Begum Khaleda Zia was our beacon in the struggle for the people of the country to achieve their rights, in establishing democracy and in protecting freedom. With whom we always fight and struggle".

BNP Joint Secretaries General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie, Publicity Secretary Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, Dhaka Metropolitan North BNP Convener Aminul Haque, BNP Chairperson's Private Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, Security Coordinator Brigadier General AKM Shamsul Rahman and leaders of affiliated organizations were present.