Bangladesh former PM Khaleda Zia to fly back to Dhaka on Qatar Emir's air ambulance

With Bangladesh likely to go into election soon, former Prime Minister and head of the main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)  Khaleda Zia will return to the country on Tuesday. Zia, who was recently acquitted in a corruption case, has been preparing for the elections post the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina regime. 

 

Head of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Dr Muhammad Yunus had recently said that the next general election could be held between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026.

 

Zia will fly home from London on Tuesday. She will land at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Shairul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP chairperson’s media wing, told reporters. 

 

As per reports, she will fly home on a special flight (air ambulance) facilitated by the Emir of Qatar. It is said that this is the same aircraft she used to fly to London. She is expected to be accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, Zubaida Rahman and Syeda Sharmila Rahman.

 

It is expected that she will receive a grand welcome at the airport. According to her party men, the BNP men are ready to welcome their leader after four months. 

 

Meanwhile, speculations are rife that Zia's return might see the elevation of her son, Tarique Rahman, the Acting Chairman of the party, as the leader of BNP. Rahman, who has been leading the BNP from London, too was acquitted in major cases, including the August 21 grenade attack.

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