Staff Reporter :
BNP Standing Committee Member and former MP Salahuddin Ahmed is set to return to Bangladesh on Sunday after spending over nine years in India. He is expected to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 2:00 PM.
The news was confirmed by Sayrul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP chairperson’s media wing, in a statement to *The New Nation* on Saturday.
Salahuddin Ahmed’s return follows the issuance of a travel pass by the Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Guwahati on August 6, facilitating his return.
Salahuddin’s family and party leaders have long alleged that he was abducted by law enforcement agencies from his residence in Uttara on March 10, 2015. However, authorities have denied these allegations.
After being missing for 62 days, Salahuddin was found in Shillong, the capital of India’s Meghalaya state, on May 11, 2015. He was subsequently arrested for entering India without valid documents and was charged under the Foreigners Act.
On October 26, 2018, a Shillong court acquitted him of these charges. This verdict was upheld by a higher court on February 28, 2023, which also directed the Indian government to facilitate his return to Bangladesh.
During his time in India, Salahuddin Ahmed received extended medical treatment. His return marks the end of a prolonged period of legal and personal challenges abroad.