Rizvi slams Khalilur over Tarique Rahman remarks

National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman's remarks about Tarique Rahman living abroad has hurt the country's people, said Senior Joint Secretary General of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said today (22 May).

"Khalilur's statement is a repetition of the way in which ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina used to spread lies about the Zia family. Efforts are on to damage the reputation of Tarique Rahman from various quarters. The way Khalilur has referred to Tarique's residence in the UK is targeted and confusing," Rizvi said during a press briefing at BNP's Naya Paltan Office this noon (22 May).

While reading out a written statement to the reporters present at the briefing, Rizvi said, "Khalilur has said that if people call him an American citizen due to him living there for some time, the same thing can be said about Tarique too as he has been living in the United Kingdom for quite some time."

Terming Tarique as the leader of the largest political party in Bangladesh, Rizvi said he does not understand how Tarique became the topic of Khalilur's statement on his country of residence.

"Whatever they say, there must be a poisoning going on inside their hearts. As we have said before, some advisers are working with specific agendas instead of neutrality," Rizvi said.

Rizvi added, "It appears that Khalilur is preserving the interests of people both in Bangladesh and abroad. We want to ask how a controversial person like him can become the national security adviser?"

"Tarique couldn't return to the country due to safety reasons. Although BNP has been supporting the interim government on the directives of Tarique, the government is failing to understand the meaning of this support," Rizvi added.

Rizvi further said, "Khalilur has to let the people know what was his whereabouts during the one and a half decade of fascism. He has to inform the public about his status abroad. He has to resign, and all the information about him has to be made public." 

Earlier yesterday (21 May), Khalilur firmly denied allegations suggesting he holds foreign citizenship, stating unequivocally that he is a Bangladeshi citizen and holds no other nationality.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital, Khalilur said, "I have only one citizenship — Bangladeshi. I have no passport from any other country. I just lived in the United States for a while with my family, but that does not make me a foreign citizen.

"If I'm being labelled a foreign citizen simply for living in the US, then the same logic could be applied to BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman, who has been living in the UK for years," he added.