BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman marked his homecoming with a symbolic gesture at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday, removing his shoes and touching the ground with his bare feet before lifting a handful of soil. Witnesses said the moment, his first physical contact with Bangladesh’s earth in 17 years, left many around him visibly emotional.
Rahman’s Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-202 landed in Dhaka at about 11:40 a.m., following a short ground stop in Sylhet where the aircraft touched down at 9:55 a.m. and departed again at 11:12 a.m. He traveled with his wife, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, and daughter, Barrister Zaima Rahman, after leaving London on Wednesday evening local time.
Security was tightened across the airport’s VIP area and along the route to the scheduled reception venue, with law enforcement positioned on both sides of the roadway. Large crowds gathered along the July 36 Expressway corridor to welcome the BNP leader as motorcades and supporters streamed toward the capital for the day’s events.