Shafiqul Islam (Jami)
A writ petition has been filed in the High Court (HC) seeking directions to allow BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia to go abroad for better treatment. Supreme Court lawyer Younus Ali Akand on Monday (December 20) filed the writ petition in the relevant branch of the High Court. Later, Younus Ali Akand told reporters that the writ petition would be presented on Tuesday for hearing in a dual bench of the HC headed by Justice Mamnoon Rahman. The law secretary, the cabinet secretary, the chief secretary of the Prime Minister’s office, the secretary to the president’s secretariat and the home secretary have been named as defendants in the writ petition.
The petitioner’s writ petition seeks permission to allow Khaleda Zia to leave the country for advanced treatment under Articles 401 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, Articles 11, 32 and 49 of the Constitution, as well as Articles 3, 5, 11 and 13 (2) of the UN Universal Declaration. A rule has been sought as to why the defendants will not be instructed to take necessary action. The ruling seeks to take necessary steps to allow Khaleda Zia to leave the country for advanced treatment in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Constitution, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles pending trial.
77-years old Khaleda Zia has been suffering from various complications including arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung and eye problems since many years. She was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital on November 13 in critical condition. After various tests, the doctors at the hospital said that she had cirrhosis of the liver. She has been bleeding more than once in her digestive tract.
Khaleda Zia is undergoing treatment at the hospital’s critical care unit (CCU). The medical board of the hospital set up for her treatment immediately recommended her advanced treatment abroad. The BNP has been demanding that Khaleda Zia to be sent abroad for better treatment. The party has carried out various programs across the country to demand this.
It is learned that Begum Khaleda Zia has been in jail since February 8, 2018 after being convicted in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases. On March 25 last year, Khaleda Zia was initially released on condition of anonymity by an executive order of the government. Her release was later extended.
