Tarique Rahman was arrested on 7 March, 2007, during the caretaker government. He was granted bail on 3 September 2008 and left for London with his family on 11 September. With political asylum, he has been living in the UK for nearly 17 years. After Khaleda Zia was jailed on 8 February, 2018, he was made acting chairperson of the party.
On 5 August, 2024, the student-people mass uprising ousted the Awami League regime. Later, Tarique was acquitted in nearly all cases against him. Home affairs adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has confirmed that there are no legal barriers to his return.
When asked about the timeline, BNP leaders simply say “Soon.” On 10 June, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told journalists at the Gulshan office, “Mr Tarique will surely return – of course, he will.” Asked when, he replied, “Very soon,” without giving a date.