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‘Congratulations Hooman’: Tarique Rahman gets ‘official’ wishes from pet cat Zebu
Tarique Rahman's pet cat, a fluffy Siberian, is a rage online, with Facebook and Insta pages dedicated to her ever since the BNP leader returned to Bangladesh
When Tarique Rahman returned to Bangladesh two months ago — just in time to lead his mother's party that has now won the national election — Zebu took a lot of the attention. His pet cat, a fluffy Siberian, has been all the rage online, with Facebook and Instagram pages dedicated to her.
It was only apt then, that the FB page ‘@ZebuTheCat’ sent out a special message to him after Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) big election win — a “congratulations hooman” with an illustration calling Rahman “jantar pradhanmantri”, Bangla for “Prime Minister of the People”.
A comment under the post by a self-styled “official” page immediately called for “Ministry of cat - under Zebu!”
Tarique's daughter Zaima Rahman regularly shared updates on Zebu's activities. The cat's name is often pronounced ‘Jebu’ or ‘Jhebu’ by Bangla speakers.
After 17 years in exile over corruption charges, Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka on December 25, 2025, at a time when his mother, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was ailing. She died a week later.
Rahman was accompanied by his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Rahman, who is a lawyer. The cat also drew public attention, having traveled in a crate aboard the plane from London.
Zaima Rahman addressed the curiosity in a Facebook post: “I must admit I’m equally surprised and amused by the level of curiosity surrounding Zebu in Bangladesh. If only she understood!”
She wrote, “Caring for an animal, any animal, is a great responsibility. After all, it is a life, a creation of Allah. When I first brought Zebu home as a kitten, I never imagined how deeply she would become part of our family. There were times when my parents would come home and ask after Zebu before asking about me! She would bounce around my mum as she gardened or walked through the neighbourhood, and in the evenings she would curl up on my dad’s lap, enjoying a head massage while he finished his work calls. As for me, Zebu always seemed able to read my emotions, offering comfort in the only ways her little paws and fluffy belly could.”
She spoke about hos nchallenging it can be to move homes with an animal. “Zebu has now travelled across continents into a completely new world. For her small soul, this is a far greater upheaval than we humans may ever fully realise,” Zaiba Rahman said.
She said Zebu had taught the family a great deal about patience, compassion for creatures big and small, and the beauty of loving and caring for one another even without a shared language. “Love, after all, transcends species.”
She also shared a “fun fact” about Zebu: “she doesn’t meow!”
“Instead, she chirps softly like a bird when she’s happy or surprised, groans in mild protest if you carry her without permission, and can yowl quite aggressively at cats she doesn’t like!” Zaiba added.
Zaiba's father Tarique is set to become the next PM of Bangladesh as the BNP swept to power in the 300-seat Parliament in the election results on February 13.
This was the first election after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in a students-led protest in 2024. In some ways, it's a generational shift towards a promised “new” Bangladesh. At the same time, being the son of an ex-PM and an ex-President, Tarique Rahman also remains the country's link to a contentious past.
