Dr. Zubaida Touches Bangladeshi Soil After 17 Years Abroad
- Update Time : 09:48:02 am, Tuesday, 6 May 2025
- / 611 Time View
After 17 years abroad, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, returned to Bangladesh on Tuesday, May 6, arriving in Dhaka with her mother-in-law, BNP leader Khaleda Zia. A photo shows Khaleda seated in the front of the car while Dr. Zubaida sat in the back. Dr. Zubaida had left the country on September 11, 2008, accompanying her husband to London, where she remained in exile for nearly two decades. On that same date in 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Tarique, Zubaida, and her mother-in-law Iqbal Mand Banu over alleged undisclosed wealth. In a 2023 verdict, a Dhaka court sentenced Zubaida to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Tk 3.5 million. However, in the aftermath of a mass student-led uprising on August 5, 2024, the sentence was suspended due to political changes. Dr. Zubaida is expected to stay at her father’s residence, known as ‘Mahbub Bhaban’, in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area, where she will be with her ailing mother. The house belonged to her late father, Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan, a former Navy chief. Zubaida Rahman married Tarique on February 3, 1994, during the rule of former President Ziaur Rahman. She joined the BCS Health Cadre the following year. In 2008, she went on study leave to accompany her husband for treatment in London but was later dismissed from her government position after extending her leave and failing to rejoin duty.
