Who is Tarique Rahman, the BNP leader returning to Bangladesh after 17 yrs?

Tarique Rahman, elder son of Bangladesh's former President Ziaur Rahman and ex-PM Khaleda Zia, returned from London on Thursday after nearly 17 years in exile

Tarique Rahman, the elder son of Bangladesh’s former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, returned to Bangladesh from London on Thursday after nearly 17 years in self-imposed exile.

 

His return marks a major moment in Bangladesh’s politics, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) projecting him as a key contender for the Prime Minister’s post ahead of the February 12 elections.

Who is Tarique Rahman?

 

Tarique Rahman, 58, is the acting chairman of the BNP and the elder son of Khaleda Zia. He left Bangladesh in 2008 and has lived in London since then.

 

During his years abroad, he faced several criminal convictions, including money laundering and charges linked to an alleged plot to assassinate then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

 

Over the past year, Bangladesh’s higher courts cleared Rahman of all major cases. These included the 2004 grenade attack case and the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The acquittals removed key legal barriers to his return to active politics.

 

He is widely seen as the BNP’s de facto leader and has announced plans to contest the February 2026 general elections. 

Life in exile: 2008 to 2025

 

Rahman left Bangladesh in September 2008 and lived in self-imposed exile in London until late 2025. Despite being away from the country, he continued to play a key role in party affairs.

 

In December 2009, he was elected Senior Vice Chairman of the BNP at the party’s 5th National Council held in Dhaka. From London, he effectively led the party’s political strategy, NDTV reported.

 

In 2015, Rahman registered a private public relations and communications firm called White and Blue Consultants Limited in the UK. Documents filed with the UK Companies House initially listed his nationality as British. In 2016, the records were updated to show his nationality as Bangladeshi.

 

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in 2024, Rahman said he would return to Bangladesh once the cases against him were withdrawn.

 

He also pledged support for the reform agenda of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, signalling his readiness to re-enter national politics after years in exile.

 

(With agency inputs)