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BNP acting Chairman Tarique Rahman's wife Dr Zubaida Rahman returned to her homeland on Tuesday after nearly 17 years of exile.
The air at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport was thick with emotion as thousands of BNP supporters, holding her photos, waving flags and chanting slogans, gathered from dawn to catch a glimpse of the woman.
They welcomed her cheerfully when she was coming out of Gate 8 of the airport along with her mother-in-law Khaleda Zia, who is also the former prime minister and the party's chairperson. They were also holding the photos of Khaleda Zia remembering the hostile attitude shown to her by the ousted Sheikh Hasina-led government.
Dr Zubaida is expected to stay at her father's nicely-furnished Dhanmondi residence, while security measures have also been stepped up there.
At 10:42 am on Tuesday, the special air ambulance of the Qatari royal family carrying Khaleda Zia and her entourage landed at the airport.
On their way home from the airport, Khaleda Zia was spotted sitting in the front of the car, while her two daughters-in-law Dr Zubaida and Syeda Shamila Rahman were sitting in the back.
Dr Zubaida along with her daughter Zaima Rahman had been living with Tarique Rahman in London since 2008. In that year, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and Zubaida Rahman's mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu on charges of acquiring wealth disproportionate to their known source of income.
A Dhaka court later sentenced Zubaida Rahman to three years in prison. The trial court's sentence, however, was suspended after the July uprising.
Zubaida Rahman, a medical graduate, MBBS, from Dhaka Medical College, did her MSc in medicine from Imperial College, London. Later, she joined the government service as a doctor in 1995, standing first in the civil service (BCS) examination for doctors.
However, after going to London on educational leave in 2008, she was dismissed by the Ministry of Health for not joining the service even after her leave was extended for a second term.
Zubaida Rahman, who hails from Sylhet, is the daughter of Rear Admiral Mahbub Ali Khan, who was the navy chief during the tenure of former President Ziaur Rahman. He also served as the minister of communications and agriculture during the government of HM Ershad.
General MAG Osmani, the commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Liberation War, is her uncle. Dr Zubaida got married to Tarique Rahman on February 3, 1994.
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