Tarique to fly home within weeks

Abu Jakir :

Tarique Rahman’s long-anticipated return to Bangladesh appears closer than ever, with senior BNP leaders saying the party chief intends to fly home “within weeks” as the Election Commission moves to announce the schedule for the upcoming general election.

The Commission’s declaration—expected in the second week of December—has sharpened political attention on Rahman’s next move, deepening
speculation over whether he will finally break his 16-year exile to lead the BNP’s campaign.

The announcement injected fresh urgency into a political season already charged with speculation over whether Rahman will fly home.

BNP insiders insist he intends to return “within this month,” and multiple senior leaders say that once the schedule is announced, Rahman will come back to lead the party’s campaign “regardless of the situation.”

Several within the party frame his return as inevitable — even essential — but acknowledge that Rahman is weighing his options carefully and avoiding any hasty move.

The interim government, for its part, maintains that there are no state barriers preventing his homecoming.

Foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain said on Sunday that if Rahman chooses to return, he could be issued a one-time travel pass “within a day,” noting that the government has neither objections nor clarity on his current UK residency status.

The debate over Rahman’s intentions intensified after he wrote on Facebook that despite his mother Khaleda Zia’s grave health condition, he does not possess “unrestricted or sole authority” to decide on returning.

His message triggered a torrent of political speculation over who — or what — is determining the timing of his homecoming, even in the post-Hasina landscape.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir refused to elaborate, saying only: “Everything is explained in Tarique Rahman’s status.”

Hours later, the chief adviser’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, countered with his own Facebook post asserting that the government has “no restrictions or objections” to Rahman’s return.

For weeks, BNP leaders had been asserting that Rahman would come back before November.

But as the month ends, Rahman has publicly acknowledged that the decision is not entirely his.

A senior BNP standing committee member said “party matters and many other issues” are behind the delay.

Others maintain that his return will be tied directly to the schedule announcement.

Khaleda Zia’s critical hospitalisation on Friday has added another emotional layer to the political drama. Doctors have described her condition as “grave,” and calls urging Rahman to return have flooded social media.

In a statement, BNP said he longs for his mother’s touch “like any son,” but lacks the freedom to make the decision independently — a message Rahman also shared on his Facebook page.

Rahman has lived in London since 2008 after leaving Bangladesh under the military-backed caretaker government.

BNP veteran Moudud Ahmed wrote in his memoir that Khaleda Zia may have reached an understanding with military authorities requiring Rahman to avoid active politics — and that he may even have signed an agreement to that effect. BNP later confirmed he sought political asylum in the UK in 2012, which was approved the following year.

For years, BNP maintained that “false cases and political obstruction” under the Awami League government blocked his return.

But after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August 2024 and the withdrawal of major cases against Rahman and his wife Zubaida, the lingering question of why he has not returned has only sharpened.

Some BNP insiders quietly suggest that objections from “influential foreign states” may be shaping the timeline, though they offer no specifics.

Analyst Mohiuddin Ahmed said Rahman’s Facebook post indicates that his return hinges on “many factors beyond his control,” pointing to past WikiLeaks disclosures revealing U.S. reservations about him.

He argued that Bangladesh’s politics remains tied to the strategic priorities of Washington and New Delhi.

Despite the uncertainties, senior BNP leaders maintain that Rahman’s return is imminent once the election schedule is released.

With the Election Commission preparing to announce the timetable in mid-December, the question of whether Tarique Rahman will finally set foot in Bangladesh — and under what constraints — has emerged as the defining storyline of the country’s election season.