Tarique heads for National Memorial

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman has left for the National Memorial in Savar after visiting the grave of his father, former president Ziaur Rahman, at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.

The bulletproof bus carrying Tarique left Zia’s mausoleum around 5pm on Friday, and is crawling through a sea of party activists, who have gathered to get a glimpse of their cherished leader after his long exile in London.

All necessary arrangements have been completed at the National Memorial in anticipation of Tarique's arrival, while security has been beefed up significantly. Civilian entry has been banned for the time being.

Police, detectives, RAB and BGB are working to ensure security at the National Memorial and along the Dhaka-Aricha Highway.

On behalf of Tarique, BNP senior leaders have already paid tribute to the Freedom Fighters at the Memorial as he was set to miss the tradition of laying floral wreath before sunset.

At 5:06pm, BNP Standing Committee Members Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, and Abdul Moyeen Khan, Chairperson’s Advisers Amanullah Aman, Lutfozzaman Babar, Dhaka District Unit President Khandakar Abu Ashfaq, and others laid floral wreaths at the altar of the Memorial, the party’s media cell said in a facebook post.