Why Was BNP Leader Tarique Rehman In Exile And What Made Him Return Now?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) returned home from London on Thursday ahead of next year's parliamentary polls, ending a 17-year-long exile.

With ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's party-the Awami League-barred from contesting the elections, the BNP is currently seen as the forerunner to win next year's polls As the BNP's top leader, Tarique is in line to become the prime minister, if all goes as expected.

Born in 1965 to former Bangladeshi president Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, the country's first female prime minister, Tarique got involved with politics from an early age.

Tarique's father was assassinated on 30 May, 1981 when he was in office, following which his mother joined politics and came to lead the BNP.

Long seen as the 'crown prince' of Bangladeshi politics, Rahman began his political career in 1988, rising to political prominence during his mother's reign in the early 2000s before going into exile.

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Tarique's time in politics saw him accused of charges ranging from corruption and bribery to political violence.

From 2006 to 2009, when a military-backed caretaker government was overseeing a transition, these cases started being investigated, and in March 2007, Tarique was arrested in dramatic fashion in a night operation at his Dhaka residence.

Months later, however, Rahman was released on bail, during which time he flew to the United Kingdom for medical treatment and put himself into self-exile, not returning until now.

Tarique faced as many as 84 cases, eventually being convicted in several of them including for money laundering and the 2004 grenade attack-charges his party always maintained were politically motivated.

Why is Tarique Rahman returning now?

Rumours of Tarique Rahman's return surfaced back in December 2024, months after the dramatic fall of Sheikh Hasina's government in August.

Following Hasina's ouster, the legal and political landscape shifted in Tarique's favor; the interim government and higher courts have since overturned his previous convictions and acquitted him in the cases filed during the Awami League era-by May 2025, Rahman had been cleared of all 84 cases against him.

With the Awami League barred from the upcoming February 2026 elections, Tarique has returned to reorganize the BNP and lead its campaign, positioning himself as the presumptive next Prime Minister.

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The BNP leader's return, while timely in relation to elections, also comes at a time when Bangladesh is seeing fresh waves of violence, triggered by the recent assassination of the youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi, who was a key figure in the student-led protests that led to Hasina's ouster.

With the law and order situation in Bangladesh precarious now, the Tarique, upon return called for unity and the maintenance of order.

“Whatever political party we belong to, whatever religion we believe in, whether we are non-partisan individuals -- all must join hands to maintain law and order,” he told thousands of party supporters gathered at the July 36 Expressway in the capital of Dhaka, where he went straight after arriving at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday.

“He gave his life believing in democracy," Rahmad added, speaking of Hadi.

Rahman, quoting Martin Luther King Jr., also highlighted his plan for building Bangladesh, saying that his party would remain committed to restoring democratic norms and institutions.

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