Tarique, Zaima complete NID and voter registration

Tarique Rahman arrived at the Election Commission’s National Identity Wing in the city’s Agargaon area at around 1:00 pm to complete his NID registration and enlist himself as a voter.

As part of the process, he provided biometric data and had his photograph taken.

On completion of all the required formalities, Tarique left the office at around 1:17 pm for his younger brother Arafat Rahman Koko’s Banani Graveyard to offer Fateha, and then Mahbub Bhaban in Dhanmondi, the residence of his father-in-law.

Earlier, Zaima Rahman completed the required process for NID registration and voter enlistment.

Accompanied by her mother Dr Zubaida Rahman, she arrived at the National Identity Wing office at around 12:26 pm.

Having completed the formalities, they left the office at around 12:45 pm, shortly before Tarique Rahman’s arrival.

According to BNP sources, Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman had already completed the online voter registration form. They are expected to be registered as voters in the Dhaka-17 constituency under DNCC Ward No. 19 in the Gulshan area, using the address of House No. 196, Gulshan-2.

Director General of the Election Commission’s NID Wing ASM Humayun Kabir, said Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman had completed the national identity and voter registration process.

He said both provided biometric data and submitted all necessary documents, adding that Zubaida Rahman was already enrolled in the country’s voter list.

Tarique Rahman, along with Zubaida Rahman and Zaima Rahman, returned to Bangladesh on Thursday morning after nearly 17 years abroad. Like her father, the visit marked Zaima Rahman’s first return to Bangladesh since the family left for the United Kingdom in September 2008. Earlier this year, Zubaida Rahman visited Bangladesh twice.

Earlier in the day, Tarique Rahman offered fateha at the grave of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho, who died a week after being shot on December 12.

Accompanied by senior BNP leaders, Tarique first placed a wreath at Hadi’s grave at around 11:30 am, paying tribute to the July uprising activist. He later offered fateha and joined a munajat seeking the salvation of Hadi’s departed soul. The munajat was led by Abu Bakar Siddique, the elder brother of Sharif Osman Hadi.

Tarique Rahman and his party colleagues also placed a wreath at the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, near the Dhaka University Central Mosque, and joined a munajat there.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan, among others, were present.

Members of the police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed across the Shahbagh and Dhaka University areas to maintain security.

Tarique left his Gulshan Avenue residence at around 10:40 am in a white bulletproof SUV and reached the Dhaka University campus at around 11:15 am under tight security.

From Mahbub Bhaban in Dhanmondi, he is scheduled to go to Evercare Hospital to visit his ailing mother.

Tarique was earlier scheduled to visit the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), popularly known as Pangu Hospital, to meet those injured during the July 2024 mass uprising. However, the programme was cancelled, reports UNB. 

In a Facebook post on Saturday morning, BNP’s Media Cell said Tarique Rahman would not visit Pangu Hospital as there are no injured victims of the July Mass Uprising.