Dhaka, Feb. 17 -- Tarique Rahman has been elected as the leader of the 13th national parliament for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The BNP parliamentary party held its first meeting at 12pm on Tuesday, where members unanimously chose him as their leader, according to Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He said it was "a historic moment after years of oppression under the previous government, destruction of democracy, and a paralysed parliament".

"Through a fair election, the party has won a majority and elected our leader [Tarique] as parliamentary leader. We are confident the country will progress under his leadership," he added.

Fakhrul also confirmed that the party decided BNP MPs will not accept any duty-free c...