He was forced to leave the country in 1986 after the Ershad government suspended the declaration of Jaijaidin and was not allowed to return Bangladesh till 1991.

[8] Rehman was arrested on April 16, 2016, on the charge of “plotting to abduct and kill” Bangladesh Prime Minister's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

His father Sayeed-ur-Rahman was a professor of Philosophy in the University of Dhaka who taught Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as well.

[2][4] Rehman studied in the Saint Gregory's School of the capital's Old Dhaka area from where he passed his matriculation in 1949.

The satirical representation of social and political issues in the magazine made it a voice of the urban middle-class.

[2][5] Rehman criticized the national election of 1986 and the process of choosing 30 women for reserved seats in the parliament.

Rehman is married to Taleya Rahman, a former broadcaster of BBC World Service and the founding executive director of an election watchdog "Democracy Watch".

During the war, he went to England to assist Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury in gathering support for Bangladesh abroad.

Amid holding no formal position, he served on the international affairs committee for the 6th National Council of BNP in 2016.

Rehman was arrested on charges of a "plot to kill" Bangladesh Prime Minister's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy,[6] a claim that was dismissed by a US district court.