DHAKA: After almost two decades in self-exile, Tarique Rahman, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is expecting victory in Thursday\u2019s election following a change in regime that for years restricted his supporters\u2019 voting rights.<\/p>\n
Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 and settled in London, facing various convictions brought against him by the administration of Sheikh Hasina, the BNP\u2019s archenemy who led the country until mid-2024, when she was toppled in a student-led uprising.<\/p>\n
He returned in late December, received by millions of people who lined his route from the airport to the center of Dhaka. He believes they will back his party at the polls.<\/p>\n
\u201cBNP is the most popular party in the country. We have been struggling for the people\u2019s voting rights for more than 17 years. We represent the people\u2019s expectations and aspirations,\u201d he told Arab News in Dhaka on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the people will vote for us and, inshallah, we will achieve a landslide victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahman, 60, is the son of BNP\u2019s founder, Ziaur Rahman, a 1971 Liberation War hero, who became president in 1977. After his assassination in 1981, Rahman\u2019s mother, Khaleda Zia, took over the party\u2019s helm and in 1991 became the country\u2019s first woman prime minister.<\/p>\n
Rahman assumed the BNP\u2019s chairmanship following her death from a prolonged illness, just days after his return to Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
In Thursday\u2019s election, the BNP will race against another 50 parties, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which is forecast to emerge as the main opposition party in the next government. The Awami League, led by the ousted premier Hasina, has been banned from contesting, following deadly unrest that led to the party\u2019s removal from power in August 2024.<\/p>\n
An interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has been tasked with preparing the general election, banned Awami League\u2019s activities, citing national security and a war crimes investigation against the party\u2019s top leadership.<\/p>\n
The UN Human Rights Office has accused the former government and its security apparatus of systematic rights violations to suppress the student-led protests between July 15 and Aug. 5, 2024. An estimated 1,400 people were killed.<\/p>\n
If Rahman wins the election, he wants his administration to pursue accountability for the former leadership and meet the political and economic expectations of the youth movement that brought about the change.<\/p>\n
In the first six months, his party\u2019s immediate priorities include restoring law and order, democratic reform and creating a business-friendly environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur 180-day program includes development plans across key sectors, including employment for 10 million people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will also accelerate private sector growth, ensure employment-oriented economic recovery and develop the blue economy. We will focus heavily on the ICT sector and AI-driven technological innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n
In international cooperation, he will prioritize partnerships with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially Saudi Arabia \u2014 home to more than 3 million Bangladeshis \u2014 with whom strong commercial relations were established during his father\u2019s rule, and which is likely to be one of the first countries he would visit if he becomes prime minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe highest number of Bangladeshi migrant workers are employed in Saudi Arabia, and the remittances they send significantly contribute to our economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI admire the Saudi Vision 2030, and I am sincerely looking forward to working with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia … I would definitely like to visit Saudi Arabia early in my term. Personally, I also wish to visit the holy mosque, Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Makkah, to perform Umrah.\u201d<\/p>\n
In relations with other countries, especially the regional powers India and Pakistan, the BNP government\u2019s policy would be guided by national interest, which \u201cis not about any specific country,\u201d Rahman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want good relations with all our foreign friends, particularly our neighbors. We are committed to building relations of equality, cooperation and friendship with our neighbors. The foundation of that relationship will be mutual respect and understanding, which will ensure our collective progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exchanges with Pakistan, from which Bangladesh gained independence in 1971, have improved following Hasina\u2019s removal \u2014 after decades of unease. At the same time, ties with India, where the former premier fled after the 2024 unrest, have since deteriorated.<\/p>\n
In November, a special tribunal in Dhaka convicted the former prime minister of crimes against humanity, and Bangladesh requested that the Indian government extradite her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to establish justice in the country,\u201d Rahman said. \u201cNo one is above the law. Anyone who has committed crimes must face trial. This is not about any specific political party; it is about justice and rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Hasina\u2019s time in office, Rahman faced multiple corruption cases \u2014 allegations he has denied, saying they were politically motivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were so many false charges filed against me, and the situation in the country was not stable in terms of law and order,\u201d he said. \u201cDespite all the odds \u2014 as I have committed and communicated to my countrymen and women \u2014 I have returned back to my beloved Bangladesh before the historic national election and (I am) looking forward to it eagerly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DHAKA: After almost two decades in self-exile, Tarique Rahman, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is expecting victory in Thursday\u2019s election following a change in regime that for years restricted his supporters\u2019 voting rights. Rahman left Bangladesh in 2008 and settled in London, facing various convictions brought against him by the administration of Sheikh …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":93613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93593"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93614,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93593\/revisions\/93614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}