BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia departed London’s Heathrow Airport for Dhaka on Monday, May 5, at 3:35 pm Greenwich Mean Time, aboard a Qatar royal air ambulance provided by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, concluding a 117-day medical stay.

Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, her physician and BNP standing committee member, confirmed the departure, citing media cell member Shairul Kabir Khan.

Khaleda, 79, was driven to the airport by her son, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, with daughters-in-law Dr Zubaida Rahman and Syeda Shamila Rahman accompanying her.

Zubaida’s return marks her first homecoming since leaving Bangladesh on September 11, 2008. UK BNP leaders and activists gathered at Heathrow to bid her farewell.

Khaleda left Dhaka on January 7 for advanced treatment, arriving in London on January 8. After 17 days at the London Clinic, she continued care at Tarique’s residence.

She is expected at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Tuesday, May 6, at 10am.

BNP has prepared a warm welcome, with her Gulshan residence, ‘Firoza,’ sanitized and equipped as an emergency medical centre for her health needs.

Party leaders and activists are abuzz with excitement, anticipating Khaleda’s return to invigorate the BNP’s base.