Dhaka, Apr 22 (NNN-PTI) Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is expected to be exiled to Saudi Arabia today by the military-backed interim government, a day after her arch rival Sheikh Hasina vowed to return home defying a ban.

Newsmen kept a overnight vigil at Dhaka's Zia International Airport as official sources and reports said Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Zia was set out for exile "anytime" to Saudi Arabia after she met her detained elder son Tarique Rahman at an undisclosed location yesterday.

The spokesman for Zia's arch-rival ex-premier Hasina of Awami League said in London yesterday that she was still determined to return home tomorrow defying a "temporary" restriction ordered four days ago.

Authorities in Dhaka ordered the ban fearing her "provocative and inflammatory" statements could destabilise situation in the country on her return after a private visit to the United States. Hasina is currently in London.

A senior adviser in interim cabinet had also said that "steps" would be taken against her if she defied the ban.

The claim by a low-profile leader of the BNP, Brigadier (Retd) Hannan Shah, that the party chief had decided to dissolve the BNP's highest policy making standing committee and executive committee added a new dimension in the political arena in Bangladesh, where political activities are currently banned under emergency rule.

BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan rejected as "rubbish" the "claim" about the party chief's decision to bring in changes replacing him with Shah as reported by newspapers and television channels.

Most high-profile party leaders, he said, have expressed solidarity with him.