Countrywide Rallies Demanding the immediate release of Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia

After a seven-hour mass-hunger strike on Saturday, Nov 20, 2021, in front of the party’s headquarters in Dhaka,  Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP has decided to hold rallies across the country, including the capital, on Monday, Nov 22, 2021, demanding the immediate release of the party’s Chairperson and former Prime Minister ‘critically’ unwell Begum Khaleda Zia for better treatment abroad.

Party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced the program while concluding their hunger-strike program. 

He said their party’s all units of metropolitan cities, district towns, and upazila headquarters will hold rallies on Monday.

In the capital, he said the program will be held in front of the Jatiya Press Club at 10am.

“We’ll come up with the same demand at the rallies. If our demand is not met by the time, we’ll announce more programs to free her and ensure her treatment abroad,” he said.

Later, the BNP leaders broke the hunger strike by sipping water offered by Dhaka University ex-vice-chancellor Prof Anwar Ullah Chowdhury around 4pm.

Also Read – BNP goes on nationwide hunger strike to seek overseas medical treatment for Khaleda Zia. 

As part of a countrywide program, hundreds and thousands of supporters, activists and leaders of the party and its associate bodies began the hunger strike in front of their Nayapaltan central office at 9am, demanding Begum Khaleda Zia to be allowed to go abroad for advanced treatment.

Several thousand BNP leaders and activists joined the program.

Besides, leaders of BNP’s alliance partners of the Jatiya Oikyafront and the 20-party alliance partners also expressed solidarity with the party by joining the hunger strike program.

On Thursday, Mirza Alamgir announced the program at a press conference at BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office.

The program was also in all metropolitan cities and district towns peacefully, except a few places.

Begum Khaleda Zia, a 76-year-old former prime minister, was readmitted to Evercare Hospital on November 13, 2021, six days after she had returned home from the hospital.

The BNP chief’s physicians said she has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, ophthalmological and dental complications.

They also said Khaleda Zia needed advanced treatment abroad immediately as she is also suffering from critical cardiac and kidney problems while her blood sugar is out of control and the hemoglobin level in her blood has dropped.