Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman urged patience and restraint Wednesday, warning that “agents of various dominant powers are still engaged in conspiracies,” as he addressed a reception in Dhaka after arriving in his homeland from the United Kingdom following nearly two decades in exile.
Rahman urged supporters not to respond to provocation, saying people united in 1971 and again in 2024 to protect Bangladesh’s independence.
“Today, the people of Bangladesh want to regain their right to speak. They want to get back their democratic rights,” Rahman said. “The time has come for all of us to build the country together. This country belongs to people of the hills and the plains, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. We want to build a safe Bangladesh, where every woman, man, and child can leave home and return safely.”
Referring to the killing of Osman Hadi, Rahman said the activist sought economic rights and urged building the Bangladesh “we all dream of.” He said young people would lead the future and outlined plans for a democratic Bangladesh with an economy.
Rahman asked prayers for his mother, BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
After spending nearly 17 years in London, Rahman is expected to take the reins of the BNP and secure political power. He has been mostly known nationally and internationally for corruption. Rahman’s record of alleged corruption, notably documented by U.S. diplomatic cables.
According to a 2007 cable released by WikiLeaks, the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka sought to bar Rahman’s entry under Presidential Proclamation 7750, citing “egregious political corruption” that had “a serious adverse effect on U.S. national interests,” including the stability of democratic institutions and foreign assistance goals.
An American diplomat described him as “notoriously corrupt.”