Tarique to return on 25 December: Fakhrul
A diplomat at the Bangladesh High Commission in London also told The Business Standard that Tarique Rahman has yet to apply for a travel pass
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is set to return to Bangladesh on 25 December, the party's Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced today (12 December).
The announcement was made during a press briefing at the BNP chairperson's office in the capital's Gulshan tonight, which comes a day after Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin announced the schedule for the upcoming national election.
A diplomat at the Bangladesh High Commission in London also told The Business Standard that Tarique Rahman has yet to apply for a travel pass.
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"He [Tarique Rahman] hasn't applied for Travel Pass as of yet and a source at Bangladesh Biman London office informed us that he may fly on Thursday as the flight directly goes to Dhaka without any transit," the diplomat said.
Fakhrul had earlier hinted at Tarique's return during the opening session of the fifth day of the "BNP's Plan to Build the Country" workshop in Dhaka yesterday, saying the BNP leader would return "very soon" after 17 years of exile in London.
Previously, on 7 August, Tarique Rahman's foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir said Tarique would return to Bangladesh by December.
"The schedule for the next parliamentary election will likely be announced towards the end of the year. Based on that, Tarique Rahman will return between November and December," he told the media after a civic gathering in Sylhet.
"His security is being arranged with the utmost seriousness," he added.
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.
