Bangladesh opposition leader returns after 17 years in exile

The political scion and BNP party head has arrived in a country torn by violence and ruled by an interim government ahead of elections

Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was in opposition during ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule, has returned to Dhaka after nearly 17 years.

Rahman landed in the capital of Bangladesh on Thursday morning and was welcomed by massive crowds, with security tightened to unprecedented levels amid recent violence and lawlessness in the country.

Speaking from the stage, 61-year-old Rahman called for unity among various communities and political forces and emphasized the goal of creating a safe Bangladesh.

Both his parents once held top government roles. His mother, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is currently being treated in a hospital in Dhaka.

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Tarique’s father Ziaur Rahman, the sixth president of Bangladesh, was assassinated by members of the country’s army on May 30, 1981. Rahman fled his homeland in 2008 over what he called politically motivated persecution and took up residence in London.

Rahman is now projected to be the key contender in the upcoming elections. An interim government, which has been in power since the ouster of ex-Prime Minister Hasina in August 2024, has delayed the announcement of elections for months and has finally set the date for the polls as February 12, under pressure from various political forces. The interim government is led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

Hasina’s party, the Awami League, has been barred from contesting the election.

Bangladesh has seen a wave of violence in recent days following the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, one of the most prominent leaders of the 2024 uprising, who was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month.
Following his death, protesters took to the streets throughout the country, demanding the arrest of the assailants, chanting anti-India slogans and rioting. Protesters attacked and set fire to the offices of two prominent Bangladeshi newspapers, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

Protests escalated further when a Hindu factory worker was lynched by a mob and later set on fire in Mymensingh. This tragedy heightened diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka, with both countries summoning each other’s envoys. On Wednesday, a bystander was killed in Dhaka when a crude bomb was hurled from an overpass and exploded.