died just five days after Rahman\u2019s return home<\/a> in December.<\/p>\n\u201cPhysically, I may have been out of the country but for all those years I was always connected to my people in Bangladesh,\u201d he said. \u201cAs soon as the opportunity came to serve my people, I came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahman\u2019s time in self-imposed exile in London, living in the suburb of Kingston with his wife and daughter, is said by associates to have mellowed him. His experiences of day-to-day British life also left an imprint, from his push for more tolerance in Bangladeshi politics to his determination to introduce weekly rubbish bin collections in the country.<\/p>\n
Many in Bangladesh say they cannot forget the corruption that flourished during the last BNP regime between 2001 and 2006, under his mother. Rahman did not dispute that \u201cmistakes\u201d had been made by his party in the past. \u201cI will not deny that. If we do, it will not help anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nBorder Guard Bangladesh personnel stand guard next to a bullet proof bus of BNP chair and election candidate Tarique Rahman, who features alongside his late parents, Khaleda Zia and Ziaur Rahman.<\/span> Photograph: Sajjad Hussain\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThough Rahman did not serve an official role in the previous regime, he was seen as having undue influence and in a leaked 2008 diplomatic cable was described as \u201ca symbol of kleptocratic government\u201d.<\/p>\n
He was jailed in 2007 as part of an anti-corruption drive by a military-backed caretaker government on charges he denies. In 2008, he was released to seek medical treatment in London, after being so badly tortured in jail that he was taken to the plane in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
During Hasina\u2019s subsequent 15-year rule, he was convicted of a slew of terror and corruption charges, which he alleges were politically motivated to keep him out of Bangladesh. In 2024, after Hasina\u2019s fall, the courts overturned his convictions, finally freeing him to return home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been more than 18 years and they\u2019ve failed to prove anything,\u201d said Rahman. \u201cDon\u2019t you think that\u2019s good enough, long enough to prove that I did nothing wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet not all in Bangladesh have cheered Rahman\u2019s return. Both his parents were Bangladeshi prime ministers and to many, he is just the next generation of dynastic politicians, continuing the grip that two families have had over Bangladesh since independence in 1971 and which many had hoped the July uprising would bring to an end.<\/p>\nJamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, centre, and other leaders during the last day of an election rally. <\/span> Photograph: Anupam Nath\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEven if the BNP win a sizeable majority in the election, analysts emphasised that the resurgence of the Islamist Jamaat e-Islami party and their Islamist alliance \u2013 parties that were banned under Hasina \u2013 could present major challenges for the BNP and Bangladesh\u2019s secularism in the future.<\/p>\n
Jamaat e-Islami, alongside allies that follow even more hardline Islamist politics, all believe in the introduction of sharia law and are likely to gain the largest vote share in their history and form a formidable opposition.<\/p>\n
Jamaat e-Islami\u2019s leader has already been accused of regressive policies and controversial views on women\u2019s rights in the home and workplace. Human rights groups have also raised an alarm over a recent surge in moral policing of women, with incidents such as girls being prevented from playing football and enforcement of modest dress and headscarves.<\/p>\n
Rahman acknowledged there were \u201csome extremist people who are trying to do these things\u201d but he said it didn\u2019t have \u201cany relation with Islam or religion\u201d. Instead, he attributed it to the \u201cabsence of democracy \u2026 People were not allowed to express themselves for so long, it has built up frustration and in some cases, extremism\u201d.<\/p>\nTarique Rahman waves from a vehicle after he arrives back in Dhaka from London, in December 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Fatima Tuj Johora\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe insisted the rise of radical Islamist politics was not a threat to the plurality of Bangladesh. \u201cIf we are able to practise democracy, if we can create jobs for young people and the opportunity to have a decent life, I believe people will come away from this kind of thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the biggest geopolitical challenges facing the new government of Bangladesh will be rebuilding relations with its neighbour India<\/a>. Under Hasina, India was Bangladesh\u2019s closest ally but ties severely frayed after her government fell and have become outwardly hostile in recent months.<\/p>\nRahman acknowledged that there were \u201cissues\u201d with India and he would only want \u201ca relationship of mutual respect, mutual understanding\u201d.<\/p>\n
Questioned on whether India and Bangladesh could rebuild a friendship while Delhi continued to give a safe haven to Hasina and hundreds of her party members, Rahman was cagey. \u201cThat depends,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has to be on them too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Tarique #Rahman #promises #era #clean #politics #Bangladesh #holds #election #fall #Hasina #Bangladesh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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