BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia traveled to London on July 15, 2017, for medical treatment. Since then, she had not undertaken any foreign trips, nor had she seen her son Tarique Rahman in person. After a wait of more than seven and a half years, the mother and son were finally reunited. Upon seeing his mother, BNP’s Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman embraced her in an emotional moment, creating a deeply poignant scene. For the Zia family, it marked an unforgettable and extraordinary day.

On Wednesday, January 8, at 2:55 PM Bangladesh time, Khaleda Zia’s air ambulance landed at Heathrow Airport. Tarique Rahman and his wife, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, were present to welcome her. The event also saw the attendance of UK BNP President MA Malek, General Secretary Koyser Ahmed, and several party leaders and activists.

Earlier, on Tuesday night at 11:46 PM, Khaleda Zia’s air ambulance departed from Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport for London, making a stopover in Doha, Qatar, en route.

The three-time former Prime Minister has been suffering from multiple health issues, including liver cirrhosis, kidney problems, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Her condition deteriorated after being jailed in 2018 in a corruption case, bringing her close to critical health crises on several occasions. Despite repeated appeals from her family and party for her to receive treatment abroad, the government did not permit her travel.

Khaleda Zia was released following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, after a student-led uprising. Subsequently, court orders annulled the verdicts in the two corruption cases for which she had been imprisoned.

In October 2023, a team of specialists from Johns Hopkins University Hospital performed a successful vascular surgery on her during their visit to Dhaka. Khaleda Zia’s doctors have emphasized the urgent need for a liver transplant, estimating the entire treatment process to take about two months.