Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned home from London on Thursday ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, ending 17 years in exile.
With ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party – the Awami League – unable to contest the election, the BNP is currently seen as the front-runner to win next year. As the supreme leader of the BNP, Tarique is poised to become the prime minister if all goes as expected.
Born in 1965 to former Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, the country’s first female prime minister, Tarique became involved in politics from an early age.
Tarique’s father was assassinated on 30 May 1981 while in office, after which his mother entered politics and became the leadership of the BNP.
Long regarded as the “crown prince” of Bangladeshi politics, Rahman began his political career in 1988, rising to political prominence during his mother’s rule in the early 2000s before going into exile.
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Why was Tarique Rahman in exile?
During Tarique’s time in politics, he was accused of charges ranging from corruption and bribery to political violence.
From 2006 to 2009, when the transition was overseen by a military-backed interim government, these cases began to be investigated, and in March 2007, Tarique was dramatically arrested in a nighttime operation at his headquarters in Dhaka.
However, Rahman was released on bail months later, during which time he flew to the UK for medical treatment and went into self-imposed exile, not returning until now.
Tarique faced up to 84 cases, eventually being convicted in several of them, including money laundering and a 2004 grenade attack – charges his party always maintained were politically motivated.
Why is Tarique Rahman making a comeback now?
Rumors of Tarique Rahman’s return surfaced as early as December 2024, months after the dramatic fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August.
After Hasina’s ouster, the legal and political landscape changed in Tarique’s favor; the interim government and higher courts have since quashed his previous convictions and acquitted him in cases filed during the Awami League era – by May 2025, Rahman had been cleared of all 84 cases against him.
With the Awami League excluded from the upcoming February 2026 elections, Tarique returned to reorganize the BNP and lead its campaign, positioning himself as the presumed next prime minister.
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What did Tarique Rahman say after his return?
The BNP leader’s return, while opportune in the context of the election, also comes at a time when Bangladesh is experiencing fresh waves of violence, sparked by the recent assassination of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who was a key figure in the student-led protests that led to Hasina’s ouster.
With the situation in Bangladesh now uncertain, the Tariques on their return called for unity and maintaining order.
“Whatever political party we belong to, whatever religion we believe in, whatever non-partisan individuals we are – everyone must join hands to maintain law and order,” he told thousands of party supporters gathered on the July 36 highway in the capital Dhaka, where he left on Thursday after arriving at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
“He laid down his life believing in democracy,” added Rahmad, speaking of Hadi.
Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Rahman also emphasized his plan to build Bangladesh, saying his party would remain committed to restoring democratic norms and institutions.
