Tarique Rahman returns home on 25 Dec

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is returning to the country on 25 December.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir disclosed this information at a briefing at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office in the capital around 9:30 pm today, Friday. Mirza Fakhrul said that the party’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, will arrive in Dhaka on 25 December. He said the party is welcoming him.

Tarique Rahman was arrested in 2007 following the 1/11 political changeover. After being released from prison in 2008, he went to the United Kingdom with his family for medical treatment. Since then, he has been there.

On 5 August last year, the Awami League government was ousted through a student–people mass uprising. Following this, the convictions against Tarique Rahman in several cases were overturned, and in some cases he was acquitted. Since then, discussions about his return have been ongoing. BNP leaders have for months been saying that Tarique Rahman would return soon, though none had given a specific date.

When BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s health became critical, it was widely believed Tarique Rahman would return quickly. In this context, Tarique Rahman made a post on his verified Facebook page from London. There he wrote, “In such a moment of crisis, the longing to feel a mother’s affection is something I too experience, like any child. However, unlike others, the opportunity to fulfil this desire is not entirely open or solely within my control.”

“There are limits to how much detail can be shared about this sensitive matter. Our family remains hopeful that as soon as the political realities reach a favourable stage, the prolonged, anxious wait for my return to my homeland will finally come to an end,” he added in the post.

Following this, various levels of the government repeatedly said that there is no obstacle to Tarique Rahman’s return to the country.