Tarique Rahman offers prayers at graves

Staff Reporter :

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman on Saturday offered prayers at a series of graves in Dhaka, marking an emotionally and politically significant day following his return after more than 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.

His day began in the morning at the University of Dhaka, where he offered prayers at the grave of Shaheed Sharif Osman bin Hadi, convener and spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha and a frontline figure of the July uprising.
The grave is located beside the burial site of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, where Tarique Rahman also paid his respects.

After completing voter registration formalities at the Election Commission’s National Identity Wing and Election Training Institute in Agargaon, Tarique Rahman proceeded to Banani.
He arrived at Banani Graveyard around 1:50pm and offered fateha at the grave of his younger brother, Arafat Rahman Koko, a sports organiser who died of cardiac arrest in Malaysia in January 2015.

Tarique stood by the grave for several minutes and joined a munajat, praying for his brother’s departed soul.
This was the first time he was able to offer fateha there due to his long stay abroad.
From Banani Graveyard, he went to the Banani Military Graveyard, where he paid tribute at multiple sites.

He offered prayers at the grave of his father-in-law, Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan, former Chief of Navy Staff.

He also visited the graves of the slain army officers of the 2009 Pilkhana tragedy, offering fateha and joining a munajat for the 57 army officers killed during the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny.
Earlier, on Friday afternoon, Tarique Rahman had visited the grave of BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman and later paid tribute at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar.

A scheduled visit to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), commonly known as Pangu Hospital, was cancelled as no injured individuals from the July mass uprising were receiving treatment there, according to the BNP media cell.
Senior BNP leaders including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Salahuddin Ahmed, and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi accompanied Tarique Rahman during some of the visits.

Academic figures present at the Dhaka University programme included Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Niaz Ahmed Khan, White Panel Convener Professor Morshed Hasan Khan, Bangladesh Open University Vice-Chancellor Professor ABM Obaidul Islam, and National University Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Lutfar Rahman.

Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh on Thursday, ending nearly 17 years of exile. His homecoming triggered an unprecedented public response, with hundreds of thousands of party leaders, activists, supporters and members of the public gathering in Dhaka.

A large reception rally was held at the 300-foot area of Purbachal, attended by BNP-nominated candidates from across the country, who later returned to their respective constituencies.
Since his return, the BNP acting chairman has been taking part in a series of political, public and personal programmes across the capital.