July 10, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1429

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s High Court on Wednesday suspended a graft case against former premier Khaleda Zia for two months, her lawyer said, in a sign that she could soon be freed from detention.

Zia, who has been detained since September last year, is charged with awarding an abandoned gas field to a Canadian company, which caused nearly $2 billion in losses to the government.

“The High Court has stayed the case for two months and asked the government to explain in two weeks why the case would not be ruled unlawful,” said Zia’s lawyer Khandaker Mahbubuddin Ahmed.

There was no immediate comment from state prosecutors on whether they would lodge an appeal against the order.

The ruling came one day after the country’s interim leader Fakhruddin Ahmed said his army-backed emergency government was ready to free the two-time former prime minister so she can get medical treatment abroad.

Ahmed said the government would extend the “same gesture” that it extended to Zia’s rival Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who was released last month as part of a deal to avert a boycott of general elections by her party.

Zia, detained as part of a government crackdown on graft and also is charged in another corruption case, has repeatedly said she would rather stay at home and treat her troubled knees and acute arthritis in local hospitals.

The two-time former premier has demanded that the government instead send her two sons -- also detained on graft charges and declared sick by courts — abroad for better treatment.

Last month the government freed Sheikh Hasina and allowed her to travel to the United States for ear treatment.

Hours after her release, Sheikh Hasina led her Awami League to a meeting with the government and announced that the party would take part in general elections scheduled to be held in December this year.

The current government came to power in January 2007 after a state of emergency was imposed and polls cancelled.

The administration is keen to ensure the participation of the Awami League and BNP -- the main parties in Bangladesh -- so the polls due later this year will be credible. Both parties had refused to hold talks to plan for an election in December because their leaders have been in detention. —AFP