Relatives fail to meet Khaleda
The jail authorities did not allow the relatives of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to visit her yesterday due to her illness, claimed party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Talking to The Daily Star, he expressed his concern over her physical condition.
Khaleda's sister Selina Islam, younger brother Shamim Eskander's son Avik Eskander, Khaleda's son Tarique Rahman's mother-in-law Iqbal Band Banu and Tarique's sister-in-law Shahina Khan Jaman Bindu went to the old central jail on the capital's Nazimuddin Road.
Although the relatives took permission from the jail authorities, they were not allowed to meet her, said Fakhrul.
“The jail authorities told the relatives that Madam [Khaleda] cannot come down to the ground floor. It seems to us that her physical condition is very bad,” he said.
Earlier, on Thursday, three top leaders of BNP failed to meet Khaleda as the jail authorities did not allow them to enter the jail.
Fakhrul said, “Hearing it from the jail authorities, family members of Madam are very anxious and so are we.”
The BNP chief landed in jail on February 8 after a special court sentenced her to five years' rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
Fakhrul met Khaleda on April 6 at the jail gate, and the very next day she was taken to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for some medical tests.
Earlier, party's senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader's remark on Khaleda Zia's illness exposed the government's “deep-rooted plot against her life”.
“Obaidul Quader said the life and death are in the hands of Allah... his comments carry a horrible indication,” he said, addressing a press briefing at party's Nayapaltan headquarters.
He said they got more worried about her life following Quader's comments. "It is proved that they are involved in a deep-rooted conspiracy against the BNP chairperson's life.”
He said that though they are repeatedly voicing concern over Khaleda's health, the government and the jail authorities are not paying heed to it.
Rizvi said the pain in her knees and legs intensified further. She was also affected by new health complications as she has been kept in a damp and old building, he added.
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