Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia remains in a critical condition after being placed on ventilation, with both local and international specialists overseeing her treatment, senior party leaders said on Monday.
The 80 year old opposition leader was admitted to a private hospital in Dhaka on 23 November after developing a chest infection that affected her heart and lungs.
Four days later, she was shifted to the coronary care unit as several of her complications worsened.
Her condition has deteriorated, and she was put on ventilation, BNP Vice-Chairman Advocate Ahmed Aazam Khan was quoted as saying by news portal tbsnews.net.
"She is in a very critical condition. There is nothing more to do except seek prayers from the whole nation," he told reporters outside Evercare Hospital here.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also confirmed that Zia remains in a critical condition as she continues to receive treatment at the hospital in Dhaka, with both local and international medical specialists involved in her care.
"She is extremely unwell. The entire nation is praying for her recovery... She is seriously ill, and our doctors are making every possible effort. Local and foreign specialists are involved in her treatment. They are trying their best," he was quoted as saying by the news website.
Zia, the wife of slain Bangladesh president Ziaur Rahman, has long suffered from multiple health complications, including liver and kidney issues, diabetes, arthritis and eye related illnesses.
She returned to Bangladesh from London on 6 May after spending four months abroad for advanced medical treatment.
Her only surviving son Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of BNP, has been living in London since 2008. Her other son Arafat Rahman died of cardiac arrest in 2025.
BNP has re-emerged as the frontrunner in Bangladesh's changed political landscape after a student-led violent street protest toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on 5 August, 2024.