Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman returned to his residence in Gulshan on Thursday night after visiting his ailing mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, at Evercare Hospital in the capital’s Bashundhara Residential Area.

Party sources said Tarique Rahman left Evercare Hospital around 8:00pm and reached his residence at House No. 196 on Gulshan Avenue shortly afterwards. He is expected to stay there with his family. Khaleda Zia resides at a nearby house known as Firoza, located adjacent to his residence.

Earlier in the day, Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh after 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom.

Following his arrival, he joined a mass reception organised by the BNP at the 300 Feet Road area in Purbachal. He departed the reception venue for the hospital at around 4:30 PM and entered Evercare Hospital premises at approximately 5:50 PM.

Before his arrival, his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and their daughter Zaima Rahman had already reached the hospital. Security measures were tightened in and around the hospital area in connection with the visit.

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital since November 23. Her condition deteriorated on November 27, after which she was shifted to the hospital’s critical care unit, according to party officials.

In his speech at the mass reception earlier on Thursday, Tarique Rahman called for maintaining peace and order across the country at all costs. He urged people to remain united and avoid provocation, saying Bangladesh needs stability and collective effort to move forward.

He said that just as people of all backgrounds united to achieve independence in 1971 and later came together in 2024 to protect the country’s sovereignty, citizens must now work together to restore democratic rights. “The people of Bangladesh want their right to speak and their democratic rights back,” he said.

Tarique Rahman also outlined a vision of an inclusive and secure Bangladesh where people of all religions and regions can live safely. He said the country should be one where women, men and children from both hill tracts and plains can leave their homes and return safely.

Earlier in the morning, as he exited Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after landing in Dhaka, Tarique Rahman removed his shoes, touched the soil and took a handful of earth in his hand, creating an emotional moment among party leaders and supporters present at the airport.

He, along with his wife and daughter, was received at the airport by senior BNP leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee members Mirza Abbas, Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Selima Rahman, Salahuddin Ahmed, Major (retd) Hafiz Uddin and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku.

From the airport, Tarique Rahman travelled to the Purbachal reception venue in a specially arranged red-and-green bus, marking a highly symbolic and closely watched return to active political life in Bangladesh.