Bangladesh awaiting Tarique Rahman's return, says BNP's Amir Khosru

The senior BNP leader says Tarique’s return to Bangladesh on Dec 25 will mark a moment of joy for the party

Describing BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman as the “torchbearer of democracy”, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has said that the wait for his return home after 17 years living in exile in the UK is set to end later this December.

Speaking at an event titled "Plan for Nation Building" at the Krishibid Institute Auditorium in Dhaka's Farmgate on Saturday, the BNP Standing Committee member said Tarique will return on Dec 25, marking a moment of joy for the party.

He said the nation-building programme is part of Tarique’s broader vision for building the country and shaping its future.

His arrival, Khosru believes, will advance the struggle they have waged in recent years to restore democracy and democratic order to Bangladesh’s politics in the coming days.

News of Tarique’s return with his family broke on Friday.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir confirmed that he will arrive in the country on Dec 25.

The BNP acting chair, like his mother and party chief Khaleda Zia, was arrested during the military-backed caretaker government in 2007–08. After his release, he left the country with his family for London and has not returned since.

On Feb 8, 2018, the same day Khaleda was sentenced and jailed in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, Tarique was made the party's acting chairman at a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee. For the past seven years, he has led the party from London via video calls.