Bangladesh’s premier hopeful Tarique Rahman returns home after 17 years in exile

After 17 years in exile in Britain, Bangladesh's prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) returned home Thursday.

Thousands of BNP supporters flocked the roads leading to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital Dhaka to see Rahman, 60, as the South Asian nation moves towards general elections next February.

He was accompanied by family members, including his wife and daughter.

Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and slain President Ziaur Rahman, left the country for London with his family for treatment back in 2008-a year after he was released from jail in 2007, facing charges including corruption.

His mother Khaleda Zia, 80, remains in a hospital in Dhaka, afflicted by various ailments.

Upon landing at the airport, Tarique Rahman thanked interim government head Muhammad Yunus in a phone call for making various arrangements especially for his safety and security.

The government of ousted fugitive former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had sentenced Rahman to several prison terms, including for alleged corruption and money laundering.

However, after Hasina fled Bangladesh to India last August, at the height of massive protests against the 15-year-rule of her Awami League party, the interim government led by Nobel laureate Yunus acquitted Rahman of all cases, paving the way for his return.

Bangladesh is set to hold elections, due since the fall of Hasina's government, on Feb. 12.

In runup to elections, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Tarique Rahman would become prime minister if his party wins the elections.