BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has applied for a travel pass at the Bangladesh High Commission in London to return home after nearly 18 years, sources said.
He submitted the application on Thursday. Tarique Rahman is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on 25 December.
He has remained in exile for political reasons and did not receive a Bangladeshi passport after his previous one expired.
Although an opportunity arose to renew his passport following the fall of the Awami League government after last year’s uprising, he did not apply. As a result, he now requires a travel pass to return to the country as a Bangladeshi national.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said Tarique Rahman would receive a travel pass if he applied for one. He said there were no restrictions on his return, and the document could be issued within a day.
Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury also said there was no obstacle to Tarique Rahman’s return and assured that the government would provide adequate security after his arrival.
Earlier, following a meeting of the BNP standing committee at the party chairperson’s office in Gulshan, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced that Tarique Rahman would land in Dhaka on 25 December.
After more than 17 years in the UK, Tarique Rahman will return to the country on that day. BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed said he would arrive at at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:55am on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.
He said the party was making special arrangements to mark the return, describing it as historic. Preparations are under way to make the reception memorable, and suitable venues near the airport and Evercare Hospital are being considered, he added.
Meanwhile, Tarique Rahman’s mother and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has been receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital since 23 November. After returning to the country, Tarique Rahman will go directly to the hospital to see his mother. His wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, arrived in Dhaka on 5 December and has been staying by her mother-in-law’s side at the hospital.
