BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman held his first official meeting with editors and senior journalists on Saturday, two weeks after returning to Bangladesh.
The programme commenced at 11am at the Grand Ballroom of Sheraton Hotel in Banani, where Tarique Rahman personally greeted the attending media representatives. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was present at the event.
Editors of national dailies, heads of electronic media, senior officials of news agencies, and veteran journalists participated in the gathering.
Speaking at the event, Mirza Fakhrul said that for many years, media representatives had not had a direct opportunity to meet with Tarique Rahman, and this programme was organised to facilitate such interactions.
Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh with his family on 25 December after spending nearly 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.
Ten days later, his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, passed away. On Friday night, during a meeting of BNP’s Standing Committee, Tarique Rahman was formally and unanimously appointed as the party chairman. The media meeting on Saturday marked his first official engagement since assuming the position.
On 3 January, election officials had declared valid the nomination papers of Tarique Rahman for Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies, clearing the way for his participation in the 13th parliamentary election slated for 12 February.
Tarique was appointed as the BNP’s acting chairman in 2018 after his mother and former prime minister Khaleda Zia was imprisoned during the Awami League regime.
