There’s one question doing the rounds of politically-charged Bangladesh these days: why isn’t Tarique Rahman, acting chief of the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) returning home at a time when his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia is critical?
Journalist and author Deep Halder who monitors Bangladesh closely, told StratNews Global on The Gist, that it is nothing to do with various charges against him, the most serious being the grenade attack on an Awami League rally in 2004 that killed 24 people. Sheikh Hasina, then in the opposition, had a narrow escape.
Rahman spent 18 months in prison before being allowed to leave for London in 2008, where he has stayed with his family all these years. So legally he’s in the clear.
Halder says the real issue is security. “He does not feel safe enough to come to Bangladesh. He fears and so do some of the top leaders of his party, that there might be an attempt on his life if he returns to Bangladesh.”
Bangladesh has been hardly secure since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government in a mass uprising last year. Miscreants claiming various political persuasions have been known to disrupt meetings, rallies and even festive events and attack those participating.
“I think he wants assurances from all concerned that he won’t be harmed if he returns to the country. And that’s it’s really serious because with the Awami League out for now, the BNP is the largest political party, and even if it does not sweep the polls, it is expected to win comfortably.”
While the Bangladeshi media is rife with reports about the mysterious “foreign hand” manipulating things behind the scenes, Halder suspects that intention maybe to tar India with that brush.
The BNP has historically seen India in adversarial terms. Its founder and former president Gen Ziaur Rahman, was killed in a coup attempt by disgruntled army officers in 1981 but fingers are generally pointed at India.
The Jammat-e-Islami too has never liked India. It opposed the liberation of East Pakistan in 1971 and even sided with the Pak army in its campaign of genocide there. It has made efforts to erase that memory, even reaching out to the Hindu community. But the Jammat is no friend of India.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Deep Halder, journalist and author.
Thirty eight years in journalism, widely travelled, history buff with a preference for Old Monk Rum. Current interest/focus spans China, Technology and Trade. Recent reads: Steven Colls Directorate S and Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon. Netflix/Prime video junkie. Loves animal videos on Facebook. Reluctant tweeter.
