Meeting between Tariq Rahman and Dr. Yunus, a storm warning in the overcast sky!

Opinion

Recently, Dr. Yunus visited London and met with Mr. Tariq Rahman. There is intense debate surrounding Mr. Yunus’s trip to London, with no one providing any justification in favor of his visit. So far, in all the discussions I have heard—whether from Yasir Yamin, Shawgat Ali Sagar, Dr. Zahed Ur Rahman, Masud Kamal, Kazi Runa, or Golam Mowla Roni—none have offered any reasoning supporting Yunus’s London trip.

On June 12, 2025, at 15:26, Kaler Kantho’s online desk published an article by Golam Mowla Roni titled *”There was no justification for Dr. Yunus’s trip.”* On the same day at 17:24, another article by him was published with the headline *”I couldn’t figure out why Dr. Yunus went to England.”* Seeing these two headlines, I felt compelled to express my opinion. It’s hard to believe there’s anything that doesn’t cross Roni’s mind—his words suggest he is well-versed in all matters.

The title of my opinion is: *”Tariq Rahman’s meeting with Yunus—a storm warning in the overcast sky!”* If Mr. Yunus ascends to state power, dark clouds will gather over Bangladesh’s political sky. The one-and-a-half-hour meeting between Mr. Yunus and Tariq Rahman in London on June 13, 2025, has signaled a looming storm in that sky. That storm could strike at any moment, potentially devastating Bangladesh’s politics. Why am I saying this?

The main reason for Mr. Yunus’s London trip was to meet Mr. Tariq. Because ever since Army Chief Mr. Waqar Uz Zaman spoke about holding elections by December, Mr. Yunus has been uneasy. To eliminate that unease, he sought to isolate the army chief. Yunus could not accept that the army chief’s stance on national elections would align with the BNP’s.

Now, where is the storm warning?

On January 11, 2007, amid political chaos over elections, the caretaker government led by Iajuddin Ahmed was removed, and a military-backed caretaker government under Mr. Fakhruddin Ahmed was formed. At the time, the army chief was Lieutenant General Moeen U Ahmed. After the advisory council was formed on January 12, the government filed corruption cases against top politicians and businessmen. On March 7, 2007, Tariq Rahman was arrested from his home on Moinul Road in Dhaka Cantonment in a corruption case. Thirteen corruption cases were filed against him, and he was brought to trial. After his arrest, he was physically tortured and held in a prison cell at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical University. After nearly eighteen months in detention, he was released on bail on September 3, 2008, for medical treatment. On September 11, 2008, after Begum Khaleda Zia was released on bail, she visited her son Tariq Rahman at the medical university. That same night, Tariq left for the UK for advanced treatment. After completing his treatment at London’s South Wellington Hospital and London Hospital, he never returned to Bangladesh and has been living in London since.

It is rumored that Tariq had to sign an undertaking before military officials, pledging never to engage in politics again in exchange for his release and permission to seek treatment abroad. There was a reason behind forcing Tariq to sign this undertaking and subjecting him to physical torture. Despite being the son of an army general and growing up in a cantonment, Tariq reportedly held a dismissive attitude toward the military. It is said that when the BNP was in power, an army general once went to meet the then-powerful Tariq Rahman, only to be humiliated. When the general asked if he could sit, Tariq reportedly replied, *”You are an employee—how dare you sit in front of me?”* The general later shared this humiliation with his colleagues at army headquarters. This is why Tariq was physically tortured and forced to leave the country after signing the undertaking.

Because of this torture and the forced undertaking, Tariq harbors deep resentment toward the military. Mr. Yunus sought to exploit this anger to ensure that the army chief’s stance on elections does not align with the BNP’s.

Mr. Yunus has succeeded. Now, none of the political parties that are supposed to contest elections want polls in December. Thus, Yunus believes the army chief’s demand has become laughable, making him appear weak. This is where the storm is brewing.

In Bangladesh’s current situation, the army has become a symbol of public hope for maintaining law and order and ensuring people’s welfare. At such a time, creating controversy around the military—such as the Dhaka North City Corporation administrator’s statement about using the army to clean sacrificial waste, insulting the institution, or appointing a foreign national, Khalilur Rahman, as security advisor to provoke conflict with the army—does not bode well. This is the storm. If it dissipates in the sky, well and good. But if it strikes Bangladesh’s politics, the consequences will be deeply painful.

-Golam Hossain,
Political Analyst.
June 15, 2025.