Writ filed in HC over Hajj mismanagement
Court tells govt to quickly resolve visa issues with KSA embassy
The High Court (HC) yesterday directed the government to communicate with the Saudi Arabian embassy in Dhaka within 24 hours to resolve the complications over the visas of Hajj pilgrims so as to ensure that all of them can have smooth journeys.
The HC bench also directed the government to arrange additional flights to ferry the pilgrims who have not been able to go to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj ritual yet.
In response to a writ petition, the HC bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan also issued a rule, asking the government to clarify why it should not be directed to explain why its inaction in containing mismanagement while dealing with the Hajj issue should not be declared illegal.
The HC bench also asked the government to explain why it should not be directed to form an inquiry commission to identify those responsible for such mismanagement.
The secretaries of the ministries of religious affairs, foreign affairs and civil aviation, the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and officials of the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh have been asked to reply to the rule within four weeks.
Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), a human rights organisation, filed the petition with the HC seeking its order to form an inquiry commission to find out the reasons behind the mismanagement of Hajj flights operated by Bangladesh Biman in sending Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year.
A Supreme Court lawyer, Advocate Manzill Murshid, filed the petition with the High Court on behalf of HRPB, praying to the HC to direct the foreign ministry to communicate with the government of Saudi Arabia within 48 hours to settle the visa complexities of the Hajj pilgrims.
