Bangladesh's BNP Leader Salahuddin Ahmed Granted Travel Approval for Return After Extended Medical Stay in India

Salahuddin Ahmed, a prominent leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been authorised to return to his home country after being stranded in India for eight years without legal documents. The Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Guwahati issued the travel pass on 8th June, as confirmed by Mr Ahmed to bdnews24.com.

The BNP leader has faced significant health challenges, with ongoing treatment for kidney problems, heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions. He has stated that he plans to finalise his medical treatment in New Delhi before scheduling his return to Bangladesh.

"My goal is to return home. However, I need to complete my treatment first, or I'm unsure of my health situation upon arrival," Ahmed commented.

Ahmed's travel approval by the home ministry was confirmed by the foreign ministry last week. Yet, he had been unable to seek adequate medical attention for the past five years due to a court restriction preventing him from leaving Shillong, India. Previous surgeries, including kidney and neck operations in 2016 and 2017, and an angioplasty with stenting in Bangladesh, highlight his ongoing health battle.

Once a junior civil servant, Ahmed served as the assistant private secretary to BNP leader Khaleda Zia during her 1991-96 term as Prime Minister. He later left his government post and was elected as a Member of Parliament from Cox's Bazar, going on to serve as the state minister for telecommunications in the 2001-06 BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami government. His wife, Hasina Ahmed, is also a former MP.

Ahmed found himself in the public eye during the 2015 anti-government protests in Bangladesh. During this period of unrest, he alleged he was abducted in Dhaka, later surfacing in Shillong with no memory of how he arrived there. Accused of trespassing by Indian police, he was acquitted in a Shillong court in February 2023.

Back in Bangladesh, Ahmed was implicated in multiple cases related to the violence during the 2015 BNP-led protest against the government. His impending return to Bangladesh comes amidst lingering questions about his mysterious disappearance and reappearance, and the unresolved allegations against him.