Mar 28, Kathmandu- The Bangladesh government has extended the prison sentence of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia for another six months. The Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh issued a notice on Wednesday and said that the prison sentence has been increased.

Zia will not be allowed to leave the country during the additional period extended by the ministry. The ministry has also said that Khaleda will have to receive medical treatment in Bangladesh.

This is the sixth time since 2020 that former Prime Minister Khaleda's prison sentence has been extended. In March 2020, the Bangladesh government released Zia from prison for temporary purposes citing humanitarian reasons during the Covid pandemic.

Former Prime Minister Zia, who is also the president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been in jail since 2018. A court in Bangladesh sentenced him to 7 years in prison for misappropriating foreign aid.

The opposition party has been alleging that Khaleda's prison sentence was politically motivated.