B'desh ex-PM to perform Umrah haj in Saudi

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Dhaka, Apr 27: Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, once thought to be heading into exile in Saudi Arabia, will go next week to Mecca for religious rites but will return after that, her close associates said today.

''Probably she will perform Umrah (short pilgrimage) haj with most of her family early next month,'' one associate said.

The Saudi Embassy has issued them visas for the pilgrimage,'' he said.

Khaleda, the most recent prime minister who ended her five-year term in October, ventured out of her Dhaka home on Thursday night to attend a dinner at her brother's residence, after being in virtual confinement since April 1.

The country's army-backed interim government said on Wednesday there were no restrictions on Khaleda's movements nor was she being pressed into exile.

Local media had earlier reported, quoting Khaleda associates and government insiders, that she had to cut a deal with the government to go into exile in Saudi Arabia.

Also on Wednesday, the government said Khalea's rival, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, would be allowed to return home after a holiday in the United States, after initially barring her from doing so.

The caretaker government's law and information adviser Moinul Husein told reporters the decision to bar Hasina was ''not right, and so we (later) decided to call it off''.

The caretaker government has been charged with holding a free and fair election in the country of more than 140 million people that experienced years of political chaos and is considered among the most corrupt countries in the world.

A long-standing feud between the Khaleda and Hasina spilled over into protests that caused the government to cancel elections in January and declare a state of emergency. All political activity has since been banned.

Security forces have since detained more than 160 political figures on various corruption charges, including Khaleda's son Tareque Rahman and several former ministers.

Khaleda's associates said she was still depressed over Tareque's detention.

''She may spend a few weeks in Saudi Arabia after the Umrah but will come back well before her three-month visa expires,'' one associate said.

Hasina is expected to return to Dhaka early next month, her party leaders said today.

''Sheikh Hasina will return after completing her appointments in London scheduled in the first week of May. A date for her return will be fixed soon,'' said Abdul Jalil, general secretary of Awami League.

Back home, Hasina faces charges of corruption and murder related to street violence in Dhaka last October, police said.

REUTERS

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