At 79 years old, Khaleda Zia is no longer active in politics due to legal battles, imprisonment, and later illness. Since February 2018, her son Tarique Rahman has been serving as the party’s acting chairman.
He has been living in the UK since the military-backed caretaker government took power in 2007 and has been directing the party from there. BNP has been out of power for more than 17 years.
On the occasion of the party’s 47th founding anniversary, acting chairman Tarique Rahman issued a message to the media yesterday, Sunday, extending greetings to leaders, workers, and well-wishers.
In his message, he said that true democracy has not yet been established in the country. Only by ensuring the rule of law, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the independence of the judiciary can people’s democratic rights be realised. For this, a people-elected and accountable government is essential.
In a separate message yesterday, BNP’s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that only by holding free and fair elections and strengthening the rule of law can citizens’ freedoms be ensured.
He added that the authoritarian structure built over the years must be uprooted to establish a tolerant, peaceful, and socially just society—something that must be the core objective of nationalist forces.