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In a strongly worded X post on Friday, Arafat <\/a>reminded the public that Tarique Rahman was convicted in several high-profile criminal cases, including the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, which killed 24 people and injured over 500. Those cases, Arafat stressed, were lodged by the 2007\u20132008 military-backed caretaker government, not by Sheikh Hasina\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese convictions have now been overturned as a result of a deal between Yunus and Tarique,\u201d Arafat alleged, adding that \u201cno one knows what he has been doing in the UK for the past 15 years. Does he have a job? How does he support his luxurious lifestyle?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tarique Rahman left Bangladesh in September 2008 after securing bail in multiple corruption cases filed during the caretaker regime. In the years that followed, he was sentenced in absentia in several of those cases, including the August 21 grenade attack and money-laundering charges. Since 2008, he has lived in London, directing BNP activities through digital platforms and video calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2001-06: How dangerous was Tarique Rahman?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Tarique Rahman blaming AL for brother Koko\u2019s death baseless, shameful\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Money Laundering: How Yunus regime used ACC, Supreme Court to acquit Tarique, Mamun<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Critics have long accused him of running a \u201cparallel government\u201d from London, allegedly selling party posts, parliamentary nominations, and even mayor and upazila chairman tickets for millions of taka. Multiple senior BNP leaders have privately acknowledged that nomination trading became the primary source of income for the party\u2019s top leadership during its years in opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The controversy has intensified since August 2024, when the Yunus-led interim government began systematically withdrawing or suspending dozens of cases against Tarique Rahman and other top BNP leaders. Several convictions have already been overturned by the High Court, and appeals in others have been fast-tracked. At the same time, the authorities have released hundreds of convicted militants, including top operatives of banned outfits such as Jama\u2019atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Ansarullah Bangla Team, citing \u201chumanitarian grounds\u201d or \u201clack of evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barisal BNP leader Sarfuddin admits to allowing extortion, bribing Khaleda Zia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Acquittal of August 21 Killers, Plotters: Yunus regime has dug the grave of justice<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice Akhtaruzzaman who delivered verdict in Khaleda\u2019s graft case forced to resign<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rights groups and victims\u2019 families have accused the interim government of selective justice and abuse of power, pointing out that while cases against opposition figures are being dropped en masse, thousands of Awami League leaders and activists remain in jail or face fresh charges related to the July\u2013August 2024 mass uprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The regime has also faced severe criticism for its near-total impunity granted to perpetrators of mob violence during and after the student-led revolution that toppled Sheikh Hasina. Attacks on minorities, arson on Awami League offices, and lynching of party workers that claimed hundreds of lives have seen almost no investigation or prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corruption: Why Khaleda\u2019s family has proof, Sheikh Hasina\u2019s does not<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrepublicbd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/tarique-yunus.jpg\")