Tarique Rahman, a convicted terrorist and acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was born on November 20, 1967 in Karachi city in Pakistan. According to information, Tarique’s family title is Mandal, whose paternal family has Iranian ancestry via his great-grandmother Meherunnisa, whose forefathers arrived in Ghoraghat during Mughal period.
According to the Library of the US Congress, “Tarique Rahman remains a controversial figure in Bangladesh’s politics, with US ambassador to Bangladesh James F. Moriarty accusing him of corruption and nepotism”.
In his early childhood he studied at BAF Shaheen College Dhaka and completed his SSC from Dhaka Residential Model College. He then earned his HSC from Adamjee Cantonment College. In 1984-85, he was admitted to the University of Dhaka first in the Department of Law and later in the Department of International Relations. He could not complete his graduation in either of the faculties. It is also rumored that Tariqur Rahman was booted-out from BAF Shaheen College in Dhaka on allegation of sodomizing. Knowing this, his father, military dictator Ziaur Rahman, who was in power at that time reportedly had asked the authorities of BAF Shaheen College to “kick-out” Tarique from the institution. Following the death of Ziaur Rahman in 1981, Tarique Rahman was admitted at Adamjee Cantonment College at the direct intervention of military dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
Tarique Rahman has never been a good student and it is rumored that he succeeded in somehow passing Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination at direct lobbying and influence of pro-BNP individuals as well as under special sympathy of General Ershad.
But Bangladesh Nationalist Party on its website attempted to projecting Tarique as a meritorious student and said:
Tarique is the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, one of the key military leaders in the Bangladeshi War of Independence in 1971, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He spent most of his life in Dhaka Cantonment. When Tarique Rahman grew up to go to school, he was admitted to a school in Dhaka popularly known as Shaheen High School and College, primarily meant for the children of the Army personnel. Later he got admitted in Dhaka Residential Model College and attained the Secondary School Certificate (SSC). Later he studied in Adamjee Cantonment Public School & College and passed Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations with commanding results. In 1985 he admitted in Dhaka University as a student of International Relations, a subject of his choice.
Tarique studied political thoughts of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Roussou, Voltaire, Karl Marx and other exceptional thinkers. He concentrated more on socioeconomic and political subjects, including the in-depth study of gradual development of democracy and dynamics of economic liberalization.
Presently, Tarique attempt to earn Bar-at-Law Degree from a University College at London….
But this article has been suspiciously removed by BNP as it realized that lies centering Tarique Rahman’s academic background would draw attention of people and face criticism. Anyways, Blitz has recovered the content from the archive.
According to a credible source in London, Tarique Rahman established a company named ‘White and Blue Consultants Limited’, a PR and communications firm, was registered with the UK regulatory body on July 1, 2015. Incorporation certificate number of ‘White and Blue Consultants Limited’ is 09665750, office address 3 Cotswold Close, Kingston Upon Thames, England, KT2 7JN.
Tarique Rahman, as director of the company, listed his nationality as British when he filed the application, which was authenticated by British authorities. He is listed as holding 50 percent of the company’s shares. The other half is owned by his wife Zubaida Rahman.
However, on June 30, 2016, Tarique amended the paperwork and listed his citizenship as Bangladeshi by birth [which is also false as Tarique was born in Karachi, Pakistan and held Pakistani citizenship until December 17, 1971]. Tarique Rahman, who has been convicted in several cases in Bangladesh, used his London residence as the official address of the company.
The amended document was amended on November 23, 2016 showing Tarique Rahman as “Bangladeshi by birth”. He changed the office address to Suite One 2, Haydons Road, London, SW19 1HL.
Then on June 30, 2017, Tarique gave the confirmation statement to the UK authorities against his company.
According to Tarique’s statements in 2016, his total wealth stood at £2870 and the bank had £38 pound in its bank account.
Validity of Tarique Rahman’s Bangladeshi passport expired in 2011 and has not been renewed since.
According to the UK Government website, Tarique Rahman dissolved ‘White and Blue Consultants Limited’ on March 23, 2021.
Tarique Rahman a notorious and feared figure
While Back in November 2008, the US State Department imposed visa restriction on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and son of then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia by branding him as a “notorious and feared figure” and “symbol of kleptocratic government and violent politics in Bangladesh”, for the past three years, surprisingly this convicted terrorist Tarique Rahman and his ultra-Islamist party have become a new-darling of the Biden administration while Washington is making frantic bids in toppling a secularist government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and let BNP and its Islamist-jihadist partners, including Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) and even Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) return to power and turn Bangladesh into an anti-Semite and Hindu-hating jihadist launchpad.
It was revealed through media reports that BNP had appointed US President Biden’s scandal-plagued son Hunter Biden as its lobbyist, while with the help of the Biden administration, that is filled with controversial Muslim staffers, BNP is attempting to return to power.
It may be mentioned here that on November 3, 2008, the US ambassador to Bangladesh, James F. Moriarty in a confidential cable (Canonical ID 08DHAKA1143_a) to the Secretary of State, seeking suspending entry of Tarique Rahman to the United State, Ambassador James F. Moriarty wrote:
“The Embassy is seeking a security advisory opinion under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Presidential Proclamation 7750, suspending the entry into the United States of Tarique Rahman (aka Tarique), born on November 20, 1967 in Bangladesh. The Embassy believes Tarique is guilty of egregious political corruption that has had a serious adverse effect on US national interests mentioned in Section 4 of the proclamation, namely the stability of democratic institutions and US foreign assistance goals. The Embassy is not seeking to apply a 212(f) finding to Tarique Rahaman’s wife, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, to their daughter, Zaima Rahman, or to his mother Begum Khaleda Zia, a former Prime Minister of Bangladesh”.
Ambassador Moriarty further wrote: “Tarique Rahman, the notorious and widely feared son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, was released on bail from prison on September 3. He departed Bangladesh to seek medical treatment in the UK on September 11. Having served as the Senior Joint Secretary General of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Tarique is an extremely high profile political figure. Notorious for flagrantly and frequently demanding bribes in connection with government procurement actions and appointments to political office, Tarique is a symbol of kleptocratic government and violent politics in Bangladesh. His release occurred despite multiple pending cases against him on charges of, inter alia, corruption, extortion, bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion. With deep political ties that reach the highest court in the land, Tarique managed to manipulate the judicial process and overcome a concerted effort by the Caretaker Government to block his bail. We believe Tarique has several passports, including a new one in which the UK issued him a visa in September. Another passport contains a five year multiple-entry B1/B2 visa (issued May 11, 2005). We suspect that passport is being held by the government”.
Accusing Tarique Rahman of accumulating hundreds of millions of dollars, Ambassador James F. Moriarty wrote:
“Tarique reportedly has accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit wealth. There are multiple extortion cases pending against him, founded on the testimony of numerous prominent business owners who he victimized and exploited. In one case, Tarique allegedly threatened Al Amin Construction owner Amin Ahmed with closure of the company unless he received a payment of 150,000 USD. Other local business leaders, including Mohammad Aftab Uddin Khan of Reza Construction, Ltd, Mir Zahir Hossian of Mir Akhter Hossain Ltd., and Harun Ferdousi have each filed accusations detailing a systematic pattern of extortion on a multi-million dollar scale. The ACC has also filed charges of concealing ill-gotten wealth, and the National Board of Revenue has brought tax evasion charges against Tarique”.
The former US ambassador further wrote:
“Tarique’s flagrant corruption has also seriously threatened specific US Mission goals. Embassy Dhaka has three key priorities for Bangladesh: democratization Bangladesh: democratization, development, and denial of space to terrorists. Tarique’s audaciously corrupt activities jeopardize all three. His history of embezzlement, extortion, and interference in the judicial process undermines the rule of law and threatens to upend the U.S. goal of a stable, democratic Bangladesh. The climate of corrupt business practices and bribe solicitation that Tarique fostered derailed U.S. efforts to promote economic development by discouraging much needed foreign investment and complicating the international operations of US companies. Finally, his flagrant disregard for the rule of law has provided potent ground for terrorists to gain a foothold in Bangladesh while also exacerbating poverty and weakening democratic institutions. In short, much of what is wrong in Bangladesh can be blamed on Tarique and his cronies.
“Applying a 212(f) finding to Tarique Rahman supports the US’s strong stand against corruption in Bangladesh. Embassy recommends that Tarique Rahman be found subject to Presidential Proclamation 7750 for participating in public official corruption as defined by Section 1, Paragraph (c) of the Proclamation”.
