The return of Tarique Rahman to Bangladesh after nearly two decades in exile is more than a personal political comeback. It marks a decisive moment in the country’s post-uprising recalibration, where power, legitimacy, and memory are being renegotiated all at once. In a political landscape cleared by the dramatic fall of Sheikh Hasina, Mr Rahman’s arrival signals the consolidation of an alternative centre of authority rather than the emergence of a genuinely new political order. For many Bangladeshis, Mr Rahman embodies continuity rather than rupture. As the heir to the Zia family legacy and the leading face of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, he represents a familiar pole in a system long defined by dynastic rivalry. Yet timing matters.

His return comes at a moment when institutional trust has been deeply eroded by years of repression, violent protests, and the politicisation of justice. In such conditions, familiarity can feel reassuring, even if it carries........

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