After 17 years in exile, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman, returned to Dhaka, marking an emotional homecoming. She plans to stay at her father’s residence in Dhanmondi after arriving. Dr. Zubaida had left Dhaka on September 11, 2008, along with her husband Tarique Rahman, and their daughter, Zaima Rahman. Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has returned home after 17 years in exile. According to bdnews24, he flew on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from London’s Heathrow Airport late Wednesday. The plane stopped in Sylhet before landing in Dhaka around noon.
After reaching Sylhet, Rahman posted on his official Facebook page: “Back in Bangladesh skies after 6,314 days!” He was traveling with his wife, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, and daughter, Zaima Zarnaz Rahman, The Daily Star reported. Their pet cat, Zeebu, was also with them. Two of Rahman’s close aides, Abdur Rahman Suny and Kamal Uddin, accompanied the family as well.
Early Life and Education
Born in Sylhet on 18 May 1972, Dr Zubaida Rahman completed her higher secondary exams with distinction. At her parents’ insistence, she enrolled at Dhaka Medical College. Zubaida married Tarique Rahman on 3 February 1994. She later passed her MBBS with top marks and joined government service through the BCS exam in 1995, ranking first in the BCS (Health) cadre.
Move to London and Higher Studies
After she went to London on study leave in 2008, the Sheikh Hasina government dismissed her from her post. While in London, Zubaida completed a postgraduate degree in medicine from Imperial College.
Her father, Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan, served as the Chief of the Bangladesh Navy from 1978 to 1984 under President Ziaur Rahman. He later became Minister of Communications and Agriculture under Hussain Muhammad Ershad. General MAG Osmani, commander-in-chief during the Liberation War, was her uncle.
Legal Challenges
Zubaida became involved in legal issues during the 1/11 caretaker government period and afterward under the Awami League government. On 26 September 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against her, her husband Tarique, and her mother, accusing them of accumulating wealth beyond known sources of income. A Dhaka court later sentenced her to three years in prison and imposed a Tk35 lakh fine. The sentence was stayed after the Awami League government fell in August last year.
Rahman has returned to Bangladesh for the first time in almost 17 years. He has been living in London since 2008 after facing several criminal convictions at home, including money-laundering charges and allegations of involvement in a plot to assassinate former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
