Shawdesh desk:

The Law Ministry has rejected an application seeking permission for sending Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia abroad for treatment.

The Law Ministry gave this opinion upon receiving an application sent by the home ministry in response to the request of the family of the former prime minister, law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister Anisul Huq told reporters at the secretariat on Sunday.

Earlier, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Saturday said that there were legal complications regarding allowing BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to be taken abroad for treatment.

The home minister said that Khaleda Zia was convicted in several cases and she had been in jail. But following the appeal of her relatives, the prime minister suspended her sentence and arranged treatment at home. Arrangements have been made for her to receive the best treatment possible, he said at an event at the Institute of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh building in Dhaka.

He said that Khaleda Zia’s brother made an appeal to take her abroad, but there were some legal complications.

On September 24, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir issued an ultimatum to the government to take necessary steps to send BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia abroad for better treatment within 48 hours, or be held responsible should anything happen to her.

On September 18, the government had once again extended the suspension of Khaleda Zia’s jail term by another six months.

The Security Services Division under the home ministry issued a notification in this regard.

Khaleda Zia has to take treatment from her Dhaka residence and she will not be allowed to go abroad during this period, said the notification.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, who has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, was transferred to the Coronary Care Unit from a cabin on Friday afternoon.

‘Khaleda Zia was transferred to the CCU in the afternoon as per the recommendation of her medical board,’ said her personal physician AZM Zahid Hossain.

The 78-year-old former prime minister has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, and eye problems.