The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) have welcomed the return of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to Bangladesh after 17 years in exile in London.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, December 25, Jamaat Amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman wrote, "Mr Tarique Rahman, welcome home with your family!"
In an interview with BBC Bangla, he stated that Tarique Rahman directly returned to the field of politics, and he sees this as positive.
The Jamaat will closely monitor Tarique's role and plan to build unity in the current political situation, and how he will implement this, Dr Shafiqur told BBC Bangla.
NCP Convener Nahid Islam said the return of Tarique would further consolidate Bangladesh’s multiparty democratic practice.
In a post on his verified Facebook account, he wrote, “The return of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to his homeland as a Bangladeshi citizen and political leader represents a meaningful outcome of the democratic movement.”
Tarique Rahman returned home today, ending 17 years’ exile.
During the 1/11 government, Tarique Rahman was arrested on March 7, 2007. He was granted bail on September 3, 2008, and left for London with his family on September 11 for medical treatment. Since then, he has been living in London with wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman.
During the last Awami League government, he was sentenced in five different cases in his absence, while around 100 cases were filed against him.
But after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, he was cleared of all charges through legal processes. Now, he has no cases pending against him.
With inputs from news agencies.