DHAKA: Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia was being treated in intensive care on Saturday, prompting her family and party members to urge citizens to pray for her speedy recovery.

Zia, 80, who was admitted to hospital on Nov 23 with symptoms of a lung infection, was in a “very critical” condition, a member of her political party said late on Friday.

“Khaleda Zia is in intensive care and consultations with physicians are ongoing,” Ahmed Azam Khan of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) told reporters outside the hospital in Dhaka on Saturday.

An air ambulance had been kept on standby to take Zia abroad for advance trea­t­ment if her condition stabilises, Khan said.

Several senior BNP leaders and anxious supporters visited the hospital to receive updates on her condition.

English-language newspaper, The Daily Star, said Zia has “heart problems, liver and kidney issues, diabetes, lung problems, arthritis, and eye-related illnesses”. She has a permanent pacemaker and previously underwent stenting for her heart, the publication reported.

Call for prayers

Zia’s eldest son, Tarique Rahm­­an, who is based in London since 2008, called on the people of Bangladesh to pray for his mother’s recovery.

Zia, who served three terms as prime minister, was jailed for corruption in 2018 under Sheikh Hasina’s government, which also barred her from travelling abroad for medical treatment. She was released last year, shortly after Hasina’s ouster.

Despite her ill health, Zia has vowed to campaign in elections expected in February 2026, in which the BNP is widely seen as a frontrunner.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2025