Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has returned to Bangladesh after nearly 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Tarique Rahman arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at around 11:40am on Thursday on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from London, accompanied by his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and their daughter Zaima Rahman, airline officials said.
The flight departed London’s Heathrow Airport on Wednesday evening and made a stopover at Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport before continuing to Dhaka.
Senior BNP leaders were present at the airport to receive Rahman upon his arrival.
Following his return, Rahman was scheduled to visit Evercare Hospital to meet his mother, former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, who has been undergoing medical treatment.
A brief event was also arranged along the July 36 Expressway (300-Foot Road) as Rahman travelled from the airport to the hospital. BNP leaders said the gathering was intended only for him to express gratitude to the public and seek prayers for his mother’s recovery.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the party had deliberately avoided organising large-scale programmes to minimise public inconvenience.
“This is not a public rally or formal reception,” he said, adding that Rahman had instructed party supporters not to organise events that could disrupt traffic or public life.
Salahuddin said Tarique Rahman had chosen to return on a government holiday to further reduce disruption and had also discouraged supporters abroad from gathering at airports.
According to BNP leaders, Tarique Rahman will stay at a residence on Gulshan Avenue prepared by the party, adjacent to the home where Khaleda Zia currently resides.
The BNP said Tarique Rahman’s upcoming schedule includes visiting the grave of party founder and former President Ziaur Rahman, paying tribute at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar, completing his national identity card and voter registration, and visiting injured participants of the July mass uprising at hospitals.
Party officials also said extensive medical and traffic arrangements were made around the brief roadside event, including medical camps, ambulances and coordination with law enforcement agencies.
Brigadier General (retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam, chief security officer for Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, said the government was providing security cooperation and that a coordinated security plan had been put in place.
Tarique Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 for medical treatment following his release from detention during the military-backed caretaker government. He has lived in the UK since then and has led the BNP in exile as acting chairman.
BNP leaders have said Tarique Rahman plans to contest the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election from the Bogura-6 constituency, scheduled for February 12.
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