UPDATE - Bangladesh’s premier hopeful Tarique Rahman, home after 17 years in exile, urges peace, calm

UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY TARIQUE RAHMAN; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - After 17 years in exile in Britain, Bangladesh’s prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday called for peace, calm, and stability, in his first public address in the capital Dhaka.

“We want peace,” he stressed, and asked people to remain calm against all odds and provocations.

“We want to build a Bangladesh (which is) safe" for everyone, he told BNP supporters who had gathered in thousands.

Recalling words of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Rahman said he has a "plan" for Bangladesh.

“I have a plan. That plan is about the people of Bangladesh. We want to build the Bangladesh that the people of Bangladesh expect,” he said, explaining that this plan is for the development of the country and change the fate of the people.

"If we work hard, we can fulfill" that plan, he said, stressing Bangladesh's path to a strong democracy and economy.

Earlier, thousands of BNP supporters flocked to 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.

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