Tarique pays tribute to Zia with emotion
Staff Reporter :
A day after returning to Bangladesh following nearly 17 years in exile, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman paid homage to his father, BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman, at his grave in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Friday.
Accompanied by senior party leaders, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and members of the Standing Committee, Tarique placed a wreath at the grave. A munajat was offered seeking eternal peace for Ziaur Rahman, the swift recovery of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and prosperity for the nation.
Standing silently in prayer, Tarique appeared visibly emotional and was seen wiping away tears as he offered fateha at his father’s resting place.
He left his Gulshan Avenue residence at 2:54pm in a red-and-green decorated bus under strict security and arrived at the grave around 4:45pm. The journey took one hour and 51 minutes due to dense crowds of party leaders and activists lining both sides of the road, narrowing the passage for his motorcade. Throughout the route, Tarique waved to supporters from inside the bus.
The same bus, bearing the slogan “Bangladesh First,” had been used a day earlier during his journey from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the reception venue, Evercare Hospital, and later to his Gulshan residence.
Thousands of BNP leaders and activists gathered in and around Zia Udyan and the National Parliament complex from early morning. Many carried party flags, banners, and posters, while crowds continued to grow as the day progressed.
Security measures were significantly reinforced in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, with additional law enforcement personnel deployed, checkpoints set up at key entry points, and party volunteers assisting in crowd control.
This marks the first time in nearly 19 years that Tarique Rahman has paid tribute at his father’s grave. His previous visit was on September 1, 2006, when he served as the party’s senior joint secretary general during the BNP’s founding anniversary.
Tarique is also scheduled to visit the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar to honour the Liberation War heroes. On Saturday, he will be formally enrolled as a voter, after which he will visit the grave of Osman Hadi near the Dhaka University Central Mosque and later meet victims of the July 2024 uprising at NITOR (Pangu Hospital).
Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on Thursday morning along with his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, and daughter Zaima Rahman. Their aircraft entered Bangladesh’s airspace earlier that day.
His return has generated intense public attention and emotional responses nationwide, with hundreds of thousands of jubilant supporters welcoming him in what BNP leaders described as a historic and triumphant homecoming.