Staff Reporter :
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will turn 61 on Thursday, though no celebratory events will be held to mark the occasion.
Born on 20 November 1965 in Bogura, Tarique is the eldest son of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman and party Chairperson Khaleda Zia. As per his directive, BNP has decided not to organise any programmes for his 61st birthday.
On Tuesday, the party instructed its leaders and activists nationwide to refrain from arranging any event or festivity related to the day.
“Ahead of the birthday of the BNP’s Acting Chairman, Tarique Rahman, on 20 November (Thursday), no elaborate programmes or festivities – including cake cutting, displaying posters or banners, or holding discussion meetings – may be organised,” said a BNP media release.
The party also called on all its units, including those in Dhaka, to strictly follow the instructions. Tarique began his formal political journey in 1988 when he became a member of the Gabtali Upazila BNP in Bogura at the age of 22, though he had been active in politics even earlier.
He married Dr Zubaida Rahman, daughter of former Air Force Chief and ex-Communications and Agriculture Minister Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan, on 3 February 1994. Their only daughter, Zaima Rahman, completed her law degree at Queen Mary University of London.
In 1988, Tarique also founded the non-political social organisation ‘Ziaur Rahman Foundation’.
He participated in nationwide campaigning during the 1991 election alongside his mother, Khaleda Zia. Although the BNP formed the government after that election, his active political involvement remained limited for some years.
Tarique took on a major role in the 2001 election campaign, during which the BNP secured a landslide victory and returned to power.
Following a decision by the BNP Standing Committee, he was appointed Senior Joint Secretary General in 2002. He later gained prominence through extensive visits across the country to strengthen the party’s grassroots network.
Tarique left for London on 11 September 2008 for medical treatment and has lived there with his family ever since. Much of his political career has unfolded during this period of exile, marked by various challenges and personal losses, including the death of his younger brother, Arafat Rahman Koko.
While in London, he was elected Senior Vice-Chairman of the BNP at the party’s Fifth National Council in 2009 and was re-elected to the same post during the Sixth National Council in 2016.
Since Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on 8 February 2018, Tarique has been serving as the party’s Acting Chairman.
Just eight days after securing bail, he left for London for medical treatment on 11 September 2008, after being arrested on 7 March 2007 during the tenure of the military-backed caretaker government.
Following the fall of the Awami League government during last year’s mass uprising, Tarique has been more active in leading the BNP from abroad. He has frequently addressed party events virtually, issued directives, and coordinated activities from the UK.
According to party sources, Tarique is expected to return to Bangladesh in the first week of next month, ending more than 17 years of exile in the UK.
