British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke Meets Khaleda Zia

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Sarah Cooke, visited BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia at her Firoza residence in Gulshan on Wednesday night. During the meeting, which took place at 8:30 pm, Cooke inquired about Khaleda Zia's health, according to BNP Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.

This marks Khaleda Zia’s first meeting with a foreign envoy since 2018, following her release from convictions in corruption cases. The meeting comes ahead of Khaleda Zia's planned visit to the UK for advanced medical treatment, according to party sources.

BNP standing committee member Prof Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, along with members of Khaleda’s medical board, Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, Dr FM Siddique, and Tabith Awal, a special assistant to the BNP Chairperson’s Foreign Affairs Advisory Committee, were present during the meeting.

Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, was last admitted to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka on July 8 due to multiple health complications. After a 45-day hospital stay, she returned home on August 24.

Khaleda Zia's health has been a concern for some time, as she suffers from a range of ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues affecting her kidneys, lungs, heart, and eyes. In June, doctors successfully installed a pacemaker to manage her heart condition.

Her medical team has been recommending treatment abroad since her diagnosis with liver cirrhosis in November 2021. Last year, three US specialists performed a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure on Khaleda Zia to address issues related to her liver.

Khaleda Zia was imprisoned on February 8, 2018, after being sentenced to five years in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The High Court later extended her sentence to 10 years. She was also convicted in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.

In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the government temporarily released her from jail after 776 days, suspending her sentence under the condition that she would remain at her Gulshan residence and not leave the country.

On August 6, 2023, President Mohammed Shahabuddin issued an order for Khaleda Zia's complete release, utilizing his powers under Article 49 of the Bangladesh Constitution, which allows the president to grant pardons, reprieves, and commutations of sentences.