Bangladesh ex-PM to perform Umrah haj in Saudi Arabia

DHAKA, Apr 27 (Reuters) 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, close associates said.

Khaleda and her main political rival, Sheikh Hasina, have been targeted by the army-backed interim government in an anti-corruption drive ahead of elections.

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

''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.

Khaleda, who ended a five-year term in October and who has been in virtual confinement since April 1, was seen leaving her Dhaka home yesterday night to visit her brother.

''Begum Khaleda Zia expressed her gratitude to all those who were concerned for her in the past weeks,'' said Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, secretary-general of Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The 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 a cut a deal with the authorities to go into exile in Saudi Arabia.

Hasina, head of Awami League and also a former prime minister, is expected to return to Bangladesh early next month from a holiday in the United States after the government reversed a decision on Wednesday barring her.

''Hasina will have to face legal actions in the country as she has been facing extortion and murder charges, though there is no arrest warrant against her at the moment,'' the caretaker government's law and information adviser Mainul Husein told a private television channel today.

Police are investigating Hasina, in relation to a spate of deadly street violence in October, and accusations she extorted more than 430,000 dollar from a businessman in 1998.

Poverty-stricken Bangladesh, a nation of more than 140 million people, has 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.

REUTERS AGL PM2245