DHAKA, April 23: Bangladesh’s former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia has pulled back from a reported deal with the army-backed interim government to go into exile, said intelligence officials on Monday.

“She has conveyed her final decision (to the government) not to go abroad in a while,” said an official. In another setback for the administration, a court suspended an arrest warrant against former PM Sheikh Hasina on Monday, a day after it had issued the order citing a murder charge.

The suspension came after a police officer investigating the case told the court the charges were flawed and he needed more time to reinvestigate.

Hasina has been refused permission to return home from holiday abroad on grounds that it could trigger unrest in the country, while Khaleda has reportedly been kept under house arrest pending forced exile.

Khaleda's close associates said the 60-year-old former premier was ill with low blood pressure and knee pains, and “she will not go out”. Last week, sources within the government and Khaleda's BNP had reported an agreement between her and the authorities.—Reuters