Dhaka: BNP on Tuesday recognised that its acting chairman Tarique Rahman submitted his passport to the British Home Office as he got political asylum there, but that does not mean he has relinquished his Bangladesh nationality.

‘Tarique Rahman sought political asylum for a temporary period and got it. As part of this process, he submitted his passport to the British Home Office,’’ said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, reports the UNB.

Speaking at a press conference at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he further said, ‘‘The information which is being spread about sending his (Tarique’s)  passport to the Bangladesh High Commission, Landon by the British Home Office for retention doesn’t legally and logically prove that he relinquished his Bangladeshi citizenship.’’

The BNP leader said it is shame for the nation that the state minister for foreign affairs does not know for what reasons a citizen loses his nationality.

He also termed mysterious the forwarding letter of the British Home Office presented by State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam about retention of Tarique passport as there are 13 major mistakes.

 ‘‘We would like to equivocally say that Tarique Rahman is a proud citizen of Bangladesh by birth. He was the citizen of this beloved country, he’s still and will remain so in the future, too,’’ Fakhrul said.

On Monday, Shahriar at a press conference said Tarique along with his wife and daughter handed over their passports to the British Home Office four years back.

‘Had he wanted renewal of passport or extension of validity, he would have handed it over to Bangladesh High Commission in the UK. But, he submitted it to the British Home Office. What does it mean? As a political person, I think, it’s the refusal of nationality,’ he told reporters at his Gulshan residence.

In the wake of controversy over his passport, BNP for the first time came up with the statement about Tarique’s status in the UK since he went there in 2008.

Fakhrul said Shahriar’s comment on relinquishing Bangladesh nationality by Tarique is unlawful and illogical. ‘We strongly protest and condemn it.’

He said their acting chairman sought asylum in the UK as it was clear from the statements of important ruling party leaders that his life was not safe in Bangladesh.

‘As per their (UK’s) customary law, the British authorities gave him travel permit after he submitted his passport. He will be able to apply for a passport to return home, and get it like other citizens of the country after recovering his illness,’ the BNP leader observed.

Fakhrul said Tarique is a citizen of Bangladesh by birth and there is a clear explanation in the country’s Constitution about such citizenship.

‘There’s no relation between having a passport and citizenship. There are many people in the country who have no passport, but it doesn’t indicate they are not citizens of Bangladesh,’ he observed.

The BNP leader said the state minister for foreign affairs’ remark on giving up Bangladeshi citizenship by Tarique for submission of his passport to the UK authorities is his political ignorance. ‘It’s nothing, but a motivated campaign.’

He said there is no reason for Tarique to renounce his citizenship since he ‘will undoubtedly lead the government of Bangladesh in the days to come’.

Fakhrul urged the government authorities concerned to immediately stop their ‘false’ campaign against the BNP acting chairman.

He also said Tarique is waiting to get a reply from the state minister for foreign affairs to the legal notice she sent to him on Monday.