BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday alleged that the government is depriving their party’s ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia of proper treatment.

“Our leader Begum Khaleda has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital as she is physically sick. We have repeatedly talked about her release and advanced treatment abroad. But how inhumane and medieval barbaric they (government) can be that they are not allowing her to receive proper treatment,” he said.

Speaking at a milad and doa mahfil, the BNP leader also slammed the government for its cruel attitude towards a physically ill person who has made an immense contribution to the establishment of democracy in the country.

BNP's Dhaka south city unit organized the doa mahfil on the ground floor of the BNP’s Naya Paltan central office, seeking speedy recovery of Khaleda.

Later, Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal also arranged a doa mahfil to pray for Khaleda's quick recovery.

On August 9, Khaleda was admitted to Evercare Hospital for health checkups and treatment as she fell ill and she has been receiving treatment at the hospital since then under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.

Khaleda, a 79-year-old former prime minister, has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, and eye problems.

According to the medical board, it is necessary to send the BNP chief to a multipurpose advanced centre abroad as soon as possible as no hospital in Bangladesh has the capacity to give her the exact treatment that she needs now.

Talking to Dhaka diplomat, a member of her medical board, wishing anonymity, said the improvement in Khaleda's physical condition is very slow.

“She has been suffering from some very critical diseases. We are giving her treatment under close observation, but various parameters of her health are fluctuating. We are worried about it,” the member added.