BNP chair Begum Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, is battling serious complications involving her heart, liver and lungs and is expected to be flown to London from Dhaka for treatment, while her son Tarique Rahman – the party’s de facto leader – remains in self-imposed exile despite expectations he would return after Hasina’s ousting.
“What could have been a better time for Rahman to return to Bangladesh than when his mother is ailing,” said Sreeradha Datta, professor of international relations at O.P. Jindal Global University. She noted that he had also not been conspicuous in media interviews.
Rahman had been expected to return to Bangladesh after the fall of the Awami League government last August, as corruption cases initiated by the previous administration are believed to have fallen through, removing earlier obstacles to his re-entry.
