NEWS DESK

The government has decided to release BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for six months suspending her jail term in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

"We have decided to release her on humanitarian grounds as per the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina," Law Minister Anisul Huq said in a briefing.

He also said, "Khaleda can receive treatment staying at her home during this time. But she can not go abroad."

The minister also said Home Ministry has been instructed to release her.

Khaleda has been in jail since she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. She was found guilty in another corruption case later the same year, though her party claims both cases are politically motivated.

The BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University since April 1 last year.