Back after 17 years, Khaleda's son appeals for an inclusive Bangladesh

DHAKA: Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's son and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh to a rousing welcome on Thursday after over 17 years in self-exile in Britain, a homecoming the party hopes will energise supporters and better its prospects in the upcoming Feb 12 parliamentary elections.

In his first speech on Bangladeshi soil since he left in 2008, Tarique drew a parallel between the upheaval in 2024 - the July uprising that led to the Sheikh Hasina govt's collapse - and the 1971 war of independence, as well as invoked Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech to claim: "I have a plan".


As thousands of BNP supporters gathered at July 36 Expressway on Dhaka's outskirts where he headed straight after arriving at the airport, Tarique said, "The time has come for us to build the country together. This country belongs to people of the hills and the plains, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. We want to build a safe Bangladesh, where every woman, man and child can leave home and return safely".Tarique to be PM if BNP wins elections: Party functionaries

Whatever political party we belong to, whatever religion we believe in, whether we are non-partisan individuals - all must join hands to maintain law and order," Tarique said, remarks that come amid a fresh wave of unrest and political instability in Bangladesh following student activist Sharif Osman Hadi's death on Dec 18.

Tarique said Osman wanted people of the country to regain their economic rights. "If we are to repay the debt of the blood of those who were martyred in 1971 and 2024, we must build the Bangladesh we all dream of," he said. "Just as the nation achieved independence in 1971, people from all walks of life once again came together to protect Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty in 2024," said the 60-year-old, who, BNP functionaries said, will be PM if the party wins the polls.

Referring to MLK Jr, he said, "I have a plan. This plan is for the interest of the people, for the country's development. To implement this, I need your support", vowing to maintain peace and order at any cost. "I want to make an inclusive Bangladesh where people, irrespective of castes, creeds and faiths, can live in a peaceful environment," said Tarique, who returned along with his wife Zubaida and daughter Zaima.

Shortly after landing in Dhaka, he stood barefoot on Bangladeshi soil in a symbolic gesture to mark his return to politics. He was living in London since 2008 and was effectively leading BNP since 2018 following Zia's ill health. Later, Tarique went to the hospital where his mother is being treated, marking their first reunion in the country in over 17 years.