The long-awaited reunion
Khaleda in London for treatment, meets Tarique for first time in seven years
Nothing is more precious than the ties a mother has with her child. Nothing, not even years of separation, can make a dent in the love of a son for his mother. A time comes when a son goes back to the warmth of his mother. It was such warmth, such love which came alive on a cold January morning in London.
Precious was the reunion between Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman. The years and the insensitivity of politics had kept them apart. Away from each other, they had suffered. The family had wallowed in despair in what was a long, dark night.
Today (8 January), at daybreak, the darkness drew to an end as Khaleda, chairperson of the BNP, landed in London for medical treatment.
A happy, emotional child drove an equally emotional mother to the hospital all the way from the airport. It was an image beyond politics, beyond every negativity. It was the fabric of traditional togetherness between mother and son that reasserted itself on the day. It was a family in beautiful reunion.
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Their meetings in 2017 and 2025, separated by seven and a half years, tell a story of resilience, love and the unbreakable bond.
Much like her last trip in July 2017, the latest trip was not just about seeking medical care; it was a chance for Khaleda to reunite with her son, who had been living in exile in London since 2008.
In 2017, Khaleda spent three months in London, receiving treatment, spending time with her family, and celebrating Eid-ul-Adha with them while confronting political challenges and legal battles.
Fast forward to January 2025, and the scene at Heathrow Airport was both similar and starkly different.
Khaleda, now 79, and battling multiple health issues, was in London once again for advanced medical treatment. This time, the reunion with Tarique was even more emotional. After seven long years of separation, the mother and son embraced each other, with the former premier in a wheelchair.
The 2025 reunion was not just a family gathering as it came after numerous challenges she faced back home, including imprisonment and severe health issues.
Her journey to London was made possible by the fall of the Awami League government and a presidential order that commuted her prison terms, paving the way for the former prime minister to seek treatment abroad.
Khaleda left Dhaka on Tuesday night aboard a special air ambulance sent by the Emir of Qatar.
The air ambulance landed at London's Heathrow International Airport at 2:55pm (Bangladesh time), news agency UNB reported citing BNP Media Cell Member Sairul Kabir Khan.
At the airport, she was received by Tarique, the acting chairman of the BNP. Tarique's wife Zubaida Rahman also welcomed her mother-in-law at the airport.
The acting High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the United Kingdom, Hazrat Ali Khan, greeted Khaleda with a bouquet.
It was surely a precious moment for Tarique, who went to London on 11 September 2008 for better treatment due to sickness but he could not return home amid political and legal battles.
After a long 2,733 days, rendering an emotional atmosphere, the mother and son hugged each other with heavenly warmth at the London airport.
Tarique, sitting beside her wife, later drove his mother to The London Clinic, a private healthcare organisation based in Central London.
Khaleda, a three-time former prime minister, has been battling multiple health issues, including liver cirrhosis, diabetes, arthritis, and complications involving her kidneys, lungs, heart and eyes.
Her physicians had been advocating for her treatment abroad ever since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in late 2021.
*The above video shows Tarique Rahman welcoming Khaleda Zia at Heathrow Airport when she visited the United Kingdom on 16 July 2017. This was the last time they met before toda
Admitted to London Clinic
Khaleda was admitted to The London Clinic around 5pm (Bangladesh time) after completing the necessary procedures, said a member of her personal medical team Dr Al Mamun.
Dr Mamun, who accompanied Khaleda along with five other Bangladeshi doctors on her flight, said the doctors at the clinic will decide on her next course of treatment after reviewing her health and medical reports.
Bangladeshi doctors and Khaleda's family members were present during her admission to the hospital.
Long battle for overseas treatment
The BNP chairperson was sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on 8 February 2018 and the High Court around nine months later doubled the jail term.
The Zia Orphanage graft case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in July 2008, accusing Khaleda of misappropriating over Tk2.1 crore that was received as grants for orphans via a foreign bank.
Later, she was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment by the same court in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case in October 2018.
In August 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon Police Station, accusing four people, including Khaleda, of raising funds for the trust from unknown sources and abusing power.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda from jail through an executive order by suspending her sentence on 25 March 2020, with the condition that she would stay at her Gulshan house and not leave the country.
Since then, her release term had been extended every six months following the family's plea until her jail terms were commuted in August.
Despite the severity of her condition, she was denied permission to travel for treatment by the Awami League government, citing legal hurdles related to her convictions in two cases.
However, on 6 August 2024, a day after the fall of the Awami League government, Khaleda's jail terms were commuted by an order from President Mohammed Shahabuddin, paving the way for her treatment abroad.
On Tuesday night, as the car carrying a free Khaleda made its way towards Dhaka airport, thousands of supporters, well-wishers, and grassroots party leaders and activists showered their respects and trust upon her by waving their hands, party and national flags, and banners.
They bade farewell to their beloved leader and wished for her swift recovery.
