Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain said on Tuesday that arrangements are underway to bring back former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from London via air ambulance.

Speaking to journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the adviser said the initiative follows a formal request from the BNP.

“The BNP has submitted a letter requesting the arrangement of a special air ambulance to bring Khaleda Zia back to Dhaka from London. The foreign ministry is actively working on this, and preparations for the air ambulance are in progress,” he said.

According to sources, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir sent the letter last week, addressed to Adviser Touhid Hossain, requesting the arrangement of an air ambulance—possibly from Qatar—to facilitate Khaleda Zia’s return.

The letter stated that Khaleda Zia is currently in London receiving advanced medical treatment. While her condition is stable, it remains serious, and doctors have recommended that she return home in a specially equipped air ambulance. She has reportedly expressed her wish to return during the last week of April.

In response to the BNP’s request, coordination efforts are underway through the Bangladesh High Commissions in both London and Doha.

If all goes according to plan, Khaleda Zia is expected to return to Dhaka by the first week of May.

Khaleda Zia, a three-time former prime minister, was arrested in 2018 in what the BNP claims were politically motivated corruption cases. She was initially held at the Old Dhaka Central Jail and later granted conditional release by the previous Awami League government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the fall of the Awami League government amid mass protests on 5 August last year, Khaleda Zia was fully released by an executive order from President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The court subsequently overturned the convictions in both corruption cases.

She traveled to London on 8 January for advanced medical care. After 17 days of treatment at a London clinic, she was discharged on 25 January and has since been recovering at the residence of her son, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

This year, Khaleda Zia celebrated Eid in London with her family for the first time in over five years. During her incarceration, she had spent four Eids in jail or under medical supervision at BSMMU Hospital.

Currently, she is undergoing a comprehensive medical check-up at her son's residence. Khaleda Zia has long suffered from multiple chronic health conditions, including liver cirrhosis, kidney complications, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.