Exiled Leader Returns After 17 Years in Dramatic Political Comeback

 

 

After spending 17 years in exile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Tarique Rahman has made a dramatic return to the country, marking a major turning point for both himself and his party. His comeback has positioned him as a leading contender to become Bangladesh’s next prime minister.

 

 

 

 

 

Just two years ago, during the last national election, Rahman was living in self-imposed exile in London. At the same time, many senior BNP leaders and activists were imprisoned under the government of Sheikh Hasina.

 

 

 

Rahman’s political career has long been marked by controversy. In 2007, he was arrested on corruption charges and moved to London the following year. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for his alleged involvement in an attack on a political rally led by Sheikh Hasina, a case he consistently described as politically motivated.

Following the collapse of Hasina’s government in 2024, several convictions and legal cases against Rahman were overturned, clearing the way for his return to Bangladesh.

Rahman is the son of Ziaur Rahman, a key figure in Bangladesh’s independence movement who served as president until his assassination in 1981. His mother, Khaleda Zia, served as prime minister three times but was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned during the rule of Hasina’s Awami League.

Khaleda Zia had planned to take part in the upcoming election. However, she passed away in December, just days after her son returned home from London.

Her death, combined with Tarique Rahman’s return, has reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape ahead of the next national vote.

News report BBC NEWS Urdu