BNP acting chief Tarique Rahman lands in Dhaka, returns to Bangladesh after 17 years to rousing reception

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman landed in Dhaka on Thursday, December 25, to a rousing welcome, weeks before the country goes to parliamentary elections.

His return to Bangladesh comes after a gap of 17 years amid a fresh wave of unrest and political instability that has been gripping the country.

Bangladesh has been witnessing violent protests following the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.

Rahman, the 60-year-old son of ailing former premier Khaleda Zia, has emerged as a leading contender for prime minister in the upcoming February general elections.

Rahman boarded a Biman Bangladesh flight at 12:15 am Bangladesh time on Thursday with his wife Zubaida Rahman, and daughter Zaima Rahman, the report added.

First visuals of BNP leader Tarique Rahman as he returns home in Bangladesh after 17 years in exile. pic.twitter.com/l6UithLovK

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) December 25, 2025

The flight carrying Rahman landed at Sylhet Osmani Airport at 9:59 am on Thursday. And from here it reached Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Hafiz Ahmed, director of Sylhet Osmani Airport, confirmed the information to Dhaka Tribune.

After landing, Rahman, on his official Facebook account, posted a photo of himself with a caption: “Back in Bangladesh skies after 6,314 days!”

Leaders and activists of the UK unit of the BNP accompanied him to the airport and saw him off up to the security cordon.

“This will be a defining political moment,” BNP spokesman Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said while referring to the return of Rahman, who is the elder son of Zia.

The BNP has made extensive preparations to welcome its acting chairman. Party Standing Committee members are set to receive him at the airport, followed by a reception programme.

After arrival, Rahman will travel by road to Evercare Hospital. On the way, he will attend a brief reception arranged by the party, the report added.

Rahman’s return comes as the BNP emerged as the forerunner in the changed political landscape after toppling of the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in a student-led violent movement dubbed the July Uprising on August 5, 2024.

The party’s partner during its 2001-2006 tenure in power, Jamaat-e-Islami and its Islamist allies, now appeared as BNP’s main rival as the interim government disbanded Awami League under the country’s tough Anti-Terrorism Act through an executive order.

BNP announced Rahman’s return on December 12, sparking speculations as in a Facebook post on November 29, Rahman said, “like any child,” he longs to be near his critically ill mother at her “moment of crisis”.