BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman went to Evercare Hospital to see his mother and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia after addressing party leaders and supporters at the 300 Feet venue in the capital on Thursday.

Tarique set off from the 300 Feet reception venue around 4:28pm and reached the hospital around 5.54 pm in the same bus he came from the airport.

It will be the first reunion of the mother and son in Bangladesh after more than 17 years, though they have met several times in London, including in January this year.

Tarique’s wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and their daughter Zaima Rahman, who accompanied him on the journey from Heathrow Airport to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, went to the hospital around 5:10pm.

Earlier, while addressing the reception venue, Tarique said, as a son, his heart lies beside his mother’s hospital bed due to her illness.

“But I cannot leave the people behind for whom she has dedicated her life in any way. That is why I have stood here today to express my gratitude to you before going to the hospital,” he said.

Tarique also urged the people of the country to pray for the recovery of his ailing mother, Khaleda Zia.

Khaleda Zia has been undergoing treatment in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Evercare Hospital in the Bashundhara residential area since 23 November, in a critical condition.

‘I’ve a plan for Bangladesh,’ says Tarique Rahman

After spending some time with his mother, Tarique is expected to proceed to House No-196 on Gulshan Avenue, where he will be staying.

Earlier in the day, a Bangladesh Biman Airlines flight carrying Tarique Rahman and his entourage landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:44am, marking the end of his 17-year exile in London.

Tarique left Bangladesh in 2008 for medical treatment after being released from jail during the military-backed caretaker government period and later settled in the United Kingdom with his family.