Jalil wants 3 more months' parole, govt grants 10 days

The government yesterday extended the parole of ailing Awami League (AL) General Secretary Abdul Jalil by 10 days to continue with treatment abroad, a home ministry release said.
The decision came in response to Jalil's application for a three-month extension.
The AL leader who has long been suffering from various medical conditions is now undergoing treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for heart and kidney problems.
A home ministry official told The Daily Star, “The government has granted the extension “on humanitarian grounds and for the sake of his treatment.”
Jalil has been asked to send all documents regarding his treatment to the home ministry, he added.
On May 28 last year, the joint forces arrested him at his Mercantile Bank office in Motijheel.
He has been ill all along his detention. He was first taken to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on June 4 last year after complaining of chest pain following a court order for him to be sent to prison.
As he showed no tangible progress after months of treatment at LabAid Hospital, his family applied to the government for sending him abroad for better treatment.
On doctors' recommendations in favour of overseas treatment, the government decided to release Jalil on a month's parole on March 2. He was flown to Singapore the next day.
Since his arrest, five medical boards were constituted to monitor his health.
The government however attached a number of conditions to his parole. According to the terms, he would not move anywhere other than Singapore, he must not get involved in any political or business activities, and would return as soon as the treatment ends.
He or his family members will inform Bangladesh embassy about his health status once in every three days and will not contact any organisation or individual for any reason other than treatment.
As his original length of parole ended yesterday, Jalil's family submitted a plea to the home ministry for extension.
Asked for his comment on the parole extension, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) Major Shamsul Haider Siddique yesterday told The Daily Star that the jail authorities have nothing to do in this regard since there is no provision in the jail code for parole. “The home ministry is dealing with the matter like it did before.”