Khaleda to go to Saudi Arabia ‘at her convenient time’

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia would go to Saudi Arabia anytime at her convenient time to perform Umrah, the party spokesman said on Thursday.
BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon at a news briefing at the party’s central office said the invitation of Saudi King to Khaleda Zia and all her family members to perform Umrah remained ‘very much valid’.
He said the speculations published in some newspapers over Khaleda’s Umrah
are ‘baseless’, saying some reported that Khaleda postponed her tour to Saudi Arabia as her elder son Tarique Rahman, now staying in London, did not get Saudi visa.
He said Saudi King like previous years this time also invited Khaleda Zia and her family members to visit the kingdom to perform Umrah.
Ripon said the matter of performing Umrah by Khaleda Zia was personal and religious matter, not a political matter.
All preparations of Khaleda Zia and her entourage were completed to fly to Saudi Arabia by a flight of Emirates Airlines on Wednesday evening, the party sources said. Tarique Rahman and his family members from London were supposed to join Khaleda in Dubai to go together to Saudi Arabia for performing Umrah, sources said.
The party spokesman said still he was not informed why Khaleda was not going to Saudi Arabia.
He said he guessed that she was not in a good state of mind over the issues of release of her party leaders from jail, recent death of an activist in jail custody and filing of fresh cases against the party leaders and activists.
He said the BNP chairperson from the beginning of this year was not interested to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah during this Ramadan.
On Wednesday, Ripon told a local online news portal that Khaleda decided not to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah this Ramadan as many leaders and activists of BNP including acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir have been behind the bars.
He said that she would perform Umrah after Ramadan.
BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan at a news briefing on July 6 said Khaleda would go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah possibly on July 8.
Referring to prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent allegation in parliament, Ripon at the news briefing termed ‘funny’ and ‘incorrect’ the allegation that BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman had created obstacle in the election of Tulip, Sheikh Hasina’s niece, in the recently concluded British parliament election.
He said three Bangladeshi origin women who were elected as members of British parliament were British citizens and engaged in British political system and nominated by British political party.
As a Bangladeshi what politics Tarique may have there, he asked, adding that Tarique did not hold the right to interfere into British politics while staying in Britain.
The party spokesman also refuted the prime minister’s allegation that late president Ziaur Rahman had obstructed Sheikh Hasina’s return back home after political changeover following assassination of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975.
Ripon claimed that Zia was sincere and made efforts to facilitate the return of Hasina back home from abroad to ensure her normal political life.
He said Sheikh Hasina took possession of her father’s Dhanmondhi house and all valuables and items during the rule of Zia.

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