The drama surrounding Family sources said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been ready to leave Bangladesh since Friday, stayed up all night on Saturday waiting to avail a flight, and went to sleep early morning yesterday, after the expected departure had been delayed. Till early Saturday, when she met her elder son Tarique Rahman either at Kashimpur Jail or in the cantonment situated in Dhaka or Savar, she had been trying to convince the government to let her elder son accompany her. The government however declined to entertain her request. "At this point, there is no chance of changing her mind about leaving Bangladesh because she is concerned about her family," said a family source.
Khaleda's brother Major (retd) Saeed Iskandar, who has been unofficially negotiating the terms of her exile, was present at her residence in Dhaka cantonment all through Saturday night. Although Iskandar officially denies being a part of the negotiation, sources said he played the key role in convincing her to leave Bangladesh. Khaleda's residence was also visited by a number of her relatives on Saturday night, who came to bid her farewell, the sources said.
Immediate past prime minister Khaleda Zia could not fly to an exile on Saturday due to some glitches in logistics including an uncertainty about which aircraft would carry her and her entourage, a delay in issuing visas for them, and a number of other issues regarding their accommodations in Saudi Arabia. Due to a lack of clear information from the authorities Khaleda and her family could not foresee the problems. The authorities wanted Khaleda to leave on a special chartered plane, while she wanted to fly on board a standard passenger aircraft. Amid the disagreement, Saeed Iskandar reportedly opined that a chartered aircraft was good enough. The authorities accordingly arranged such a plane from Dubai on Saturday, which however was yet to reach Dhaka till last night.