The political heir and leader of the BNP has arrived back in a nation gripped by unrest and administered by a caretaker administration before upcoming polls.
Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) during former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, has come back to Dhaka following an absence of almost 17 years.
Rahman arrived in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday morning, greeted by large crowds while security was heightened to extreme levels due to recent widespread violence and disorder.
Addressing supporters from a stage, the 61-year-old appealed for solidarity across different communities and political groups, stressing the aim of building a secure Bangladesh.
Both of his parents previously served in the highest government offices. His mother, ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is presently receiving medical care at a Dhaka hospital.
Tarique’s father, Ziaur Rahman, who was Bangladesh’s sixth president, was killed by army officers on May 30, 1981. Rahman left the country in 2008, citing politically driven persecution, and settled in London.
Rahman is now seen as the primary candidate for the forthcoming elections. A caretaker government, in charge since ex-Prime Minister Hasina was removed in August 2024, postponed setting an election date for months before finally scheduling the vote for February 12 under pressure from multiple political factions. This interim administration is headed by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
The Awami League, Hasina’s party, has been prohibited from participating in the election.
A surge of violence has hit Bangladesh in recent days after Sharif Osman Hadi, a key leader of the 2024 uprising, was fatally shot by masked attackers in Dhaka earlier this month.
After his killing, demonstrators nationwide demanded the arrest of those responsible, shouted anti-India slogans, and engaged in riots. They also assaulted and burned the offices of two major Bangladeshi newspapers, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.
The unrest intensified when a Hindu factory worker was lynched and then set ablaze by a mob in Mymensingh. This incident worsened diplomatic strains between New Delhi and Dhaka, leading both nations to summon each other’s ambassadors. Separately, a bystander was killed in Dhaka on Wednesday when a crude bomb thrown from an overpass detonated.