BNP to maintain balanced ties with regional powers: Tarique

Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has said that “My message is clear: by hook or by crook, law and order in Bangladesh must be maintained and upheld. We will not tolerate or entertain any actions that disrupt peace and security. Law and order will apply equally to everyone."  In his first address after the BNP's decisive win, Rahman on Saturday said the "interests" of Bangladesh would be the basis of his foreign policy with India.This is in line with his earlier assertion that a BNP government would maintain balanced ties with regional powers like India, China and Pakistan and not treat any country as its "mastr", he asserted. When asked whether he would try to bring back Sheikh Hasina from India, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman says, "That depends on the legal process, of course."

Dhaka, Bangladesh: When asked about India–Bangladesh relations, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman says, "We have cleared ourselves regarding the foreign policy, which is the interest of Bangladesh and the interest of Bangladeshi people comes first. By protecting the interest of… pic.twitter.com/JcO4hd3u6y

— IANS (@ians_india) February 14, 2026

In the elections, the first after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in a bloody student uprising, saw the BNP bag 212 of the 297 seats, leaving the radical Jamaat-e-Islami party a distant second. Rahman returned home in Dhaka in December 2025 after almost 17 years of self-imposed exile in London. Rahman is set to become the prime minister of Bangladesh, a post that was once held by his mother. He will also be the first male prime minister of Bangladesh since 1991.