Staff Correspondent

BNP Standing Committee Member Salahuddin Ahmed, who returned home from India after nine years on Sunday, expressed his commitment to establishing a genuine democracy in Bangladesh.

After landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he directly went to Chandrima Udyan to pay respects at the grave of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman.

Addressing his supporters there, the BNP leader said "I am deeply grateful to Almighty Allah for allowing me to return among you after more than nine years in exile. First, I congratulate the people of this country, especially the students and youth, who have secured a second independence with their blood, achieving true freedom and presenting us with a new Victory Day."

BNP’s Salahuddin returns home from India after about 9 years

He said the country’s people must make this independence and victory meaningful. “We have to present the country’s people a truly democratic country by properly reforming the democratic framework. “

The BNP leader called upon people at all levels of society to have patience and restore discipline so that they can enjoy the fruits of freedom, democracy, and the second Victory Day.

Describing the recent anti-government movement as an unprecedented student revolution in the world in the 20th century, he said it is now necessary to turn Bangladesh into a real democratic state with the rule of law to make the bloody revolution a success.

Salahuddin said if the democratic and constitutional institutions can function independently and impartially, the country’s 18 crore people will be able to reap the benefit of the second independence and the student-led revolution.

BNP’s Salahuddin to return home Sunday from India after 9 years

"No one can suppress this heroic nation. We’ll protect the country from the attack of the external enemy,” he said.

The BNP leader also urged all to remain alert to protect the country from internal conspirators

Earlier, Salahuddin Ahmed arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on an Air India flight around 2:15 PM after spending over nine years in India’s Shillong.

Salahuddin’s wife Hasina Ahmed and some BNP leaders, including its vice chairman Barkatullah Bulu, senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and joint secretary general Khairul Kabir Khokon, received him at the VIP lounge of the airport with a wreath.

Besides, several thousand leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies also gathered at the airport to welcome Salahuddin.

The Assistant High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Guwahati issued his travel pass on August 6, clearing the way for his return.

Besides, several thousand leaders and activists of BNP and its associate bodies also gathered at the airport to welcome Salahuddin.

After remaining missing for 62 days, Salahuddin, a former state minister, was found in Shillong, the capital of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya on May 11, 2015.

He was arrested for entering India without valid documents and charged under the Foreigners Act.

Later, Shillong police pressed charges against him in the case.

BNP alleged that Salahuddin was abducted from his home in Uttara, Dhaka, on March 10, 2015, by individuals posing as detectives.

On October 26, 2018, a court in Shillong acquitted him of the charges related to his illegal entry.

This verdict was upheld by a higher court on February 28, 2023, which also directed the Indian government to arrange for his return to Bangladesh.