Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday said that the government has turned down the application of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s family seeking permission to take her abroad for better treatment.
”The Law Ministry informed us that Khaleda Zia can’t go abroad unless her sentences are commuted. There is no judicial provision that permits a convicted offender to go abroad for treatment. In the light of such opinion, We can not grant her family’s application,” he told reporters at a briefing at his Secretariat office.
The minister said they will inform the BNP chief’s family about their decision.
Earlier on Wednesday last, Khaleda Zia’s younger brother Shamim Iskander met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at his Dhanmondi residence and submitted a formal application seeking permission to send her abroad for advanced treatment.
Later, the application was sent to the Law Ministry for its opinion.
Law Minister Anisul Haq on Sunday morning sent his ministry’s opinion to the Home Ministry.
Khaleda Zia tested positive for Covid-19 on April 10 as eight people at her residence were infected with the virus. She underwent the second Covid-19 test on April 24 and her report was positive.
Meanwhile, Khaleda Zia tested negative for Covid-19 on Saturday, 27 days after she had been infected with the deadly virus.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
