DHAKA, Dec 24, 2025 (BSS) – Staying away from 8000 kilometers since 2008, Tarique Rahman ensured his place in the heart of crores of people and positioned himself at the forefront of politics by spearheading a protracted tireless campaign for restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is now set to return home ending his long exiled life in a changed political scenario to steer the party in person to ensure people’s rights to vote and place the party in a position which it deserved.

The eldest son of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and three-time former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman was born on November 20, 1965. His childhood and adolescence were spent in Dhaka, amidst the turmoil against the backdrop of Bangladesh’s fight for independence and democracy.

A witness and participant in the country’s political upheavals, he along with his mother and late younger brother Arafat Rahman Koko, was detained during the Liberation War and became one of the youngest political prisoners in the struggle for Bangladesh’s independence.

His father, BNP’s founder, proclaimed the country’s independence deserting his secured army career and emerged as a top military leader in the Liberation War.

Tarique Rahman is now serving as the acting Chairman of the BNP and earlier he was senior vice chairman and senior joint-secretary general of the party respectively.

Educational and early political engagement :

Tarique completed his secondary education at Dhaka Residential Model College and higher secondary studies at Adamjee Cantonment College.

He was enrolled at Dhaka University in 1984, first in the law department and later in international relations. In adolescence, he saw the political atmosphere as his father was running the country as the President and simultaneously steering the newly formed BNP.

In university Tarique got himself involved directly in politics and gained early experience in grassroots organizational activities and public engagement.

His academic journey exposed him to the works of political philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire and Karl Marx, shaping his political thought.

Anti-Ershad Movement :

The movement against the then president HM Ershad’s autocratic regime largely shaped his role as a young politician as his mother was waging the campaign under the banner of BNP-led seven-party alliance in 1980s.

He joined BNP as a primary member in 1988 in Gabtali Upazila of Bogura district.

The protracted anti-Ershad campaign turned into a peoples upsurge in 1990 when Ershad regime fell paving the way for a credible general election in 1991.

Tarique started electioneering touring nearly every district with his mother, culminating in BNP’s electoral victory installing Begum Zia as Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister.

In later years, he was a pioneering figure in selecting party leadership in a democratic process at the district level through secret balloting to strengthen democracy at grassroots.

He established an office in the capital to research local and good governance issues, consulting with intellectuals and civil society members in 2001 and his efforts contributed to the BNP’s landslide victory in the 2001 election.

Pragmatic leadership :

Despite being the son of party chairperson, Tarique preferred not to pursue for holding public offices or parliamentary membership and rather focused his role in strengthening BNP at the grassroots throughout the country.

Recognizing his organizational contributions, BNP appointed him as senior joint secretary general in 2002, a position he used for organizing nationwide grassroots-level

conferences that gave him the opportunity to engage with thousands of his party activists and common citizens.

He responded to over 18,000 letters during the programmes.

Through public engagement, he promoted initiatives like farmers’ subsidies, pensions for the elderly, environmental campaigns and scholarships for female students to ensure gender equality in society.

Personal life :

In 1994, Tarique married Zobaida Rahman, a doctor by profession and daughter of former Navy chief and two-time minister Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan.

Dr. Zobaida is a cardiologist and the couple has a daughter, Zaima Rahman, who is a barrister and practicing lawyer.

The tragic loss of his brother, Arafat Rahman Koko, on January 24, 2015 due to a cardiac arrest in Malaysia and the people’s long-time deprivation of democratic and voting rights deeply encouraged Tarique’s humanitarian and empathetic approach to the leadership.

Battle with state-sponsored repression :

On March 7, 2007, Tarique was detained without any prior notice of charge by the then army-backed interim government and languished for 18 months in captivity when he was remanded in police remand and exposed to torture and inhumane treatment.

He was released while undergoing treatment at the then PG Hospital in Dhaka on September 3, 2008 and then sent abroad and a week later sent abroad for advanced treatment as his health condition deteriorated alarmingly.

The bitter experiences, fortunately, strengthened his moral courage and commitment to the party and the nation.

Tarique Rahman’s prudent and capable political thinking is recognized not only at the national level, but also in the global arena, as he already called upon the country’s politicians to shun the path of politics of vengeance and confrontation.

During his protracted life in exile in London, Tarique engaged himself in research works to devise the country’s future development plan and disseminate his party’s mission and vision in grassroots by holding virtual meetings.

He enhanced the engagements ahead of the 13th parliamentary election scheduled for February 12, 2026.

Tarique Rahman has been struggling to restore democracy, people’s stalled voting rights, reforms of the state, administrative decentralization, revival of the country’s ruined economy, strengthening the educational system and ensuring equity in the society irrespective of gender, religion and ethnicity.

Role in restoring democracy:

Tarique played a significant role in the campaign for restoring Bangladesh’s democracy. Under his guidance, BNP leaders and activists participated in protests, including that of the 2024 July Uprising.

The Uprising resulted in the fall of Awami League-led dictatorial rule forcing then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country, amid the bloodstained street protests on August 5 in the same year.

The Awami League first established one-party BAKSHAL rule in the country in 1975, But, the then Lt. General Ziaur Rahman took charge of the state on April 21, 1977 and introduced a multiparty democracy, ensuring freedom of the press and expression.

Later, after the fall of H M Ershad-led autocracy on December 6, 1990, Begum Zia reintroduced parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh during her first premiership in BNP’s 1991-1996 tenure.

Tarique all through remained aligned with the party’s core democratic principles and continued to pursue the goal of restoring genuine democratic rule that ensures people’s fundamental rights-education, clothes, health, food and residence and voting rights.

31-point proposal :

Tarique Rahman unveiled a 31-point proposal outlining Bangladesh’s future governance structure in 2023, based on Begum Zia’s Vision 2030.

The proposals include a bicameral parliament, caretaker government provisions, constitutional balance, term limits for the Prime Minister, human rights protections, unemployment allowances, family-friendly policies and a British-model healthcare system.

The programmes now serve as BNP’s guidelines for the state governance and Tarique is fully committed to implementing the proposals if the party is elected to power in the next general election.

Symbol of courage :

Tarique Rahman’s life exemplifies tolerance, grassroots engagement, principled politics and humanitarian leadership.

Beyond his party leadership, Tarique Rahman is widely seen as a potential next prime minister of Bangladesh while he remains rigid on his stance for democratic restoration imbued with the spirit of the War of Liberation and the July Uprising.

His journey from 1988 to 2025 offers lessons in patience, organisation, ethics and empathy, cementing his role as a transformative figure in the country’s political history.