BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman returns to Dhaka after 17 years in exile

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman landed in Dhaka on Thursday, ending more than 17 years of self-exile in the UK.

Rahman’s return comes amid a fresh wave of unrest and political instability that has been gripping the country following the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who played a key role in the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The BNP Standing Committee members received him at the airport. He was accompanied by wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman.

Rahman, the 60-year-old son of ailing former premier Khaleda Zia, has emerged as a leading contender for prime minister in the upcoming February general elections.

BNP emerged as the forerunner in the changed political landscape after toppling of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in a student-led violent movement dubbed the July Uprising on August 5, 2024.

The party's partner during its 2001-2006 tenure in power, Jamaat-e-Islami and its Islamist allies, now appeared as BNP’s main rival as the interim government disbanded Awami League under the country’s tough Anti-Terrorism Act through an executive order.

Rahman’s return to Bangladesh also assumes significance as Jamaat has been trying to expand influence in Bangladesh's fractured political landscape.

BNP announced Rahman’s return on December 12, sparking speculations as in a Facebook post on November 29, Rahman said, “like any child,” he longs to be near his critically ill mother at her “moment of crisis”.