Former state minister for home affairs and ex-Awami League leader Sohel Taj has been prevented from boarding an overseas flight to the USA, confirmed his sister Mahjabin Ahmad Mimi.
Mimi said the incident occurred on Wednesday but declined to comment further on the matter. When asked why Sohel was prevented from leaving the country, Mimi said, “Ask the people who prevented him from leaving.”
A special super (immigration) from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, preferring anonymity, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Sohel was not allowed to leave the country due to an overseas travel ban imposed on him.”
A checkered past
Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, the only son of Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad, re-emerged in 2025 as one of the most outspoken voices pressing for truth, reform and justice in national life.
Sohel Taj, who resigned from parliament and ministerial responsibility more than a decade ago, has been vocal on different issues during Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, which formed after the fall of Hasina regime through a mass uprising last year.
He had accused the Awami League of monopolising the history of the Liberation War, saying the struggle was achieved through collective leadership rather than a single figure.
On July 17, Sohel Taj and his sister Sharmin Ahmad met Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at Jamuna, official residence of Chief Adviser.
They invited him to events marking Tajuddin Ahmad’s birth centenary and submitted a memorandum demanding recognition of 10 April as Republic Day and 3 November as a national day of mourning.
They also urged that school textbooks carry the complete history of 1971, including the contributions of all leaders.
In his years away from active politics, Sohel Taj turned to civic activism, hosting the television programme Hotline Commando and promoting health and fitness awareness.
But since 2024 he has sharpened his political voice, demanding reforms, accountability and an end to dynastic control.
He has declared he would not accept leadership unless the Awami League acknowledges its past mistakes, including enforced disappearances, and brings those responsible to account.
As the country heads towards the 13th parliamentary election in February 2026, Sohel Taj’s positioning has stirred debate.
To some, he is the heir of a political legacy long denied its rightful recognition; to others, he represents a generation disillusioned with old party structures but unwilling to let go of the demand for justice and democratic reform.
He has also raised the need for an independent probe into the 2009 Pilkhana massacre and justice for the families of victims, stressing that unanswered questions from that tragedy remain a national wound.
Known once as a rising Awami League lawmaker, Sohel Taj was elected from Gazipur-4 in 2001 and again in 2008.
He briefly served as state minister for home affairs in Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet before resigning in 2009, citing dissatisfaction with governance. He later stepped down from parliament in 2012. Since then, his sister Simeen Hussain Rimi has held the seat.
