Former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat has pushed back against claims that the previous Awami League government refused to issue a passport to BNP leader Tarique Rahman.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Arafat argued that Tarique’s passport was never cancelled during the Awami League’s tenure; it simply expired and was not renewed. He contrasted this with the current government’s handling of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s documents.
Arafat, who served in Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet and has been living in exile since the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, responded to what he described as “false arguments” circulating about the passport issue.
“Was Tarique’s passport cancelled during our time? No,” he wrote. “During our tenure, Tarique’s passport was not cancelled. After his passport expired, it was not renewed.”
He questioned why Tarique, whom he described as a fugitive accused person, did not return to Bangladesh before the document expired, stating that the passport of such an individual should not be renewed.
Arafat added that if Tarique had ever applied for a passport or travel pass to return home, it would have been granted. “Even if not a passport, a travel pass would have been given,” he said.
The former minister then turned the criticism toward the present administration.
He asked why Sheikh Hasina’s passport was cancelled, arguing that the problem would not have arisen otherwise. Addressing those he called “speculative brokers,” Arafat said they fear Sheikh Hasina because “the people of the country love” her and do not want to allow her return. “That is the reality,” he wrote.
Arafat drew a sharp contrast between the two leaders’ positions on returning to Bangladesh. He noted that Tarique Rahman “has not said even once in 17 years that he wants to return to the country.” By comparison, he said, Sheikh Hasina, who left the country amid the 2024 upheaval, announced her intention to return within roughly one and a half years and is now preparing to do so. “This is the difference,” Arafat concluded. “The people of the country understand all this.”
The post comes amid heightened political tension over travel documents. Tarique Rahman, who spent nearly 17 years in exile in the United Kingdom, returned to Bangladesh in December 2025 using a travel pass issued by the interim government after his Bangladeshi passport had expired. He later became prime minister following the February 2026 elections.
Sheikh Hasina, living in India since August 2024, has had her passport and national identity card revoked. In early November 2026 her lawyers requested new documents from the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi to facilitate a planned return in December; the BNP-led government rejected the request, describing her as a fugitive and preferring extradition proceedings.