Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said on Sunday that BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman can receive a travel pass within a day if he wishes to return to Bangladesh.
Speaking at a discussion organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club, the adviser said the Bangladesh High Commission in London would issue the pass immediately upon request.
He explained that Bangladeshi citizens abroad who do not have a passport or whose passports have expired are provided with a one-time travel pass by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate their return home. The respective embassy or high commission issues the document.
“If Tarique Rahman says today that he wants to return, the travel pass will be issued tomorrow. The day after, he can come back,” Touhid Hossain said, adding that the government has imposed no restrictions on his return.
His remarks come days after Tarique Rahman wrote on Facebook that the matter of his return was not fully under his control.
Tarique Rahman travelled to the United Kingdom in 2007 for medical treatment, during which time his passport expired. After the fall of the Awami League government, the interim administration said he could renew his passport if he wished.
