Govt will issue travel pass in a day if Tarique wants to return home: Foreign adviser
Touhid Hossain says govt doesn’t know Tarique’s status in London
The interim government will issue a travel pass in a day if BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman wants to return to Bangladesh, Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain has said.
The government doesn't know the status of Tarique in London, and it is unusual for another country to stop him if he wants to return home, he said at the "DCAB Talk" event hosted by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB), in Dhaka today (30 November).
"If today he (Tarique) says that he wants to return, we can issue a one-time travel pass tomorrow. He can board a plane the day after. There is no problem. It's entirely up to him," he said.
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He further explained that when someone wants to return but does not possess a valid passport, the government generally issues a single-journey travel pass, a process that normally takes less than a day.
The adviser's comments came a day after Tarique said, despite his strong desire to return to Bangladesh to be by the side of his ailing mother, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, the decision is not entirely his to make.
Tarique flew to the United Kingdom in 2008 for treatment hours after his mother's announcement that he would stay out of politics until he recovered fully.
According to his lawyers, a total of 84 cases were filed against him over the years since then. However, since 5 August last year, following the ouster of the Awami League government in a mass uprising, Tarique has been acquitted of all these convictions.
As Tarique is now acquitted in almost all cases against him, he seemingly has no legal obstacles to returning to Bangladesh. It was speculated in recent months that Tarique would return home in November. However, that has not happened yet.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Tarique wrote, "Like any child, I long to feel my mother's comforting touch during such a crisis. But unlike others, I don't have unrestricted or independent authority to decide on returning home."
He added that the issue is sensitive and cannot be elaborated further.
Tarique said the family remains hopeful that once the current political realities evolve, he will be able to return to Bangladesh after a long period of "anxious waiting."
Hours after his Facebook post, CA's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said the interim government has no objections regarding Tarique's return to Bangladesh.
Shafiqul, also in a Facebook post, wrote, "There are no restrictions or objections from the government in this matter."
Khaleda Zia has long suffered from heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, liver cirrhosis, kidney complications and other ailments. She was rushed to Evercare Hospital last Sunday after experiencing breathing difficulties.
