The scheduled departure of critically ill former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia for London for advance treatment has been deferred to Sunday as an air ambulance offered by Qatar could not reach Dhaka, a senior leader of her party said on Friday. The 80-year-old head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who was hospitalised on November 23, was originally scheduled to leave for London late on Thursday night or early Friday.

“If everything goes well, it may arrive today, and if Zia’s health permits travel, and her medical board gives its approval, she will fly out on Sunday,” BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.