On December 25, Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), returned to Bangladesh after a 17-year exile in London, imposed in September 2008 by an unelected, military-backed government. Before being forced onto a London-bound flight, he was reportedly subjected to physical torture in custody and compelled to sign an undertaking pledging permanent withdrawal from politics. More than a decade and a half later, Rahman’s return was marked by millions of supporters turning out to receive him — an unmistakable signal of his enduring political relevance.

Rahman assumed the role of acting BNP chairman while his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was imprisoned under Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League (AL) government. Her treatment during this period stands as one of the most shameful episodes in Bangladesh’s recent political history. And Rahman himself was named in more than 80 cases under that regime.

Against this backdrop, Rahman’s conduct since the fall of the authoritarian AL........

© Indian Express