NEW DELHI, India: Tarique Rahman was sworn in as Bangladesh’s new prime minister on Tuesday, in what is being hailed as a new dawn of democracy and hope for the nation of 175 million.
He was administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at the Jatiya Sangsad national parliament in Dhaka in a ceremony broadcast live.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) elected Tarique, the son of former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, and former president, Ziaur Rahman, as its parliamentary party leader.
The new prime minister’s cabinet members were also sworn in at the ceremony attended by officials from several countries.
Tarique heads a 49-member team, comprising 25 cabinet-rank ministers and 24 ministers of state.
The BNP, founded in 1978 by Ziaur Rahman, achieved a landslide victory in the Feb 12 parliamentary elections, and is returning to power after two decades.
Tarique returned to Bangladesh from Britain in December last year after 17 years in exile.
He formally took over the party’s reins following the death of his mother, Khaleda Zia, who passed away on Dec 30 after a long illness and years of bitter political struggles with her rival, Sheikh Hasina.
The new government faces several challenges, including rebuilding public trust in institutions, spurring economic growth and employment, and fostering political harmony after more than 15 years of rule by the Hasina-led Awami League regime, which was ousted in a mass uprising in August 2024.
Hasina, who fled to India, along with many of her party leaders living abroad, faces serious charges in Bangladeshi courts, including murder and corruption.
Interim leader Muhammad Yunus in a farewell message to the nation on Monday night described the transfer of power to an elected government as a new era for Bangladesh.
“It is the beginning of a new journey for Bangladesh’s democratic system, the birth of a new Bangladesh,” he said in the broadcast.
South Asian countries have warmly congratulated the new prime minister and participated in his oath-taking ceremony.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, the Speaker of India’s lower house of parliament Om Birla, Pakistan’s Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Sri Lanka’s Health and Mass Media Minsiter Nalinda Jayatissa and Nepalese Foreign Minister Balananda Sharma were present at the ceremony. – BERNAMA
