Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman to return to Bangladesh after years of self-exile on December 25

Khaleda Zia

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday confirmed that amid the critical nature of health of party chief and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, her son and acting chairman Tarique Rahman will finally return home after nearly two decades abroad.

While speaking to reporters, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir confirmed the decision on Friday.

"We are pleased to announce that our Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will return to Dhaka on December 25," he said, adding, "The party welcomes him."

60-year-old Rahman has been in London since 2008, ostensibly for medical treatment, but has remained stuck there ever since, steering the BNP from afar, mostly through virtual appearances.

His long absence from Bangladesh has often puzzled even some within the party, especially as his mother’s condition has grown more critical in recent weeks. Khaleda Zia, 80, has been admitted to Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital since November 23 with several serious complications.

Her condition took a worrying turn on Thursday when doctors placed her on “elective ventilator support to give rest to her lungs and other vital organs.”

The news of Rahman’s planned homecoming landed just a day after Bangladesh’s election commission scheduled the country’s 13th parliamentary polls for February 12 - a timeline that suddenly puts the BNP back in the center of the national conversation. The party has seen a political resurgence since massive student-led protests forced Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government from power on August 5 last year.

BNP leaders have previously indicated that Rahman would be their choice for prime minister if the party wins and if Khaleda Zia is deemed physically unfit to take on the role.

Still, it is his return, after 17 years of self-exile, that is now sparking fresh questions: Will his presence energise BNP supporters at a critical moment? Or is his journey back being driven entirely by his mother’s rapidly worsening health?

(With agency inputs)