Khaleda fails to get visa, cancels Saudi visit

BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia had to postpone her visit to Saudi Arabia to perform holy Umrah as she did not get the invitation letter from the Saudi government till yesterday, sources close to the BNP chief told The Independent.
The former premier was scheduled to leave the country for Saudi Arabia yesterday onboard an Emirates Airlines flight in the evening. Several family members and some officials of her party were supposed to accompany her.
But in the afternoon, party officials informed the press of the postponement of her visit.
When contacted Major General (Retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, chairman of the Kallyan Party, told The Independent that till last night Khaleda did not get the invitation letter from the Saudi government.
Ibrahim’s Kallayn Party is a partner of the BNP-led 20 party alliance, headed by Khaleda.
“The invitation letter is mandatory to avail the visa,” he explained.
However, many term the delay in receiving of the invitation letter as an unusual incident because Khaleda used to perform the Umrah on the invitation of the Saudi King every year.
It may be mentioned that Khaleda’s elder son, Tarique Rahman who is currently staying in London, was expected to board the same flight from Dubai toaccompany his mother.
When contacted a senior leader of the UK unit of BNP told The Independent that Tarique also postponed his visit after being informed that Khaleda did not receive the invitation letter from the Saudi Government.In Saudi Arabia, Khaleda had plans to hold several meetings with Tarique, also the senior vice chairmen of the party, on different crucial issues including party’s re-organisation and future course of the next anti-government movement.
However, officials of the BNP chairperosn’s office, and BNP leaders kept mum over the visa issue.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shyrul Kabir Khan, an official of the BNP chairperson’s media wing, said Khaleda Zia is going to Saudi Arabia on an invitation of the Saudi king.  
“After a three-day stay in Media, Khaleda will go to Mecca with her entourage to perform holy Umrah. She will pass the Shab-e-Qadr at Masjid al-Haram in Mecca” Shyrul said. The BNP chairperson also had plans to visit the Rawja Mubarak of Prophet Mohammed (SM) and offer prayer at Masjid-e-Nababi in Medina, he said adding that the BNP chairperson was scheduled expected to return home on July 17 prior to the Eid-ul-Fitr.
According to party sources, a list of 15 members was sent to Saudi embassy. The list includes Tarique Rahman, his wife and children, late Arafat Rahman Koko’s wife and children, Khaleda’s younger brother Shamim Iskandar and his wife Kaniz Fatema and two officials of Gulshan office.
Meanwhile, after the cancellation of the trip some party leader told the media that Khaleda postponed the visit considering the domestic political situation.
Since party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and many other senior leaders were in jail, Khalda felt that it would not be wise to leave the country right now.
They also said that police tried to nab some leaders of the party who were scheduled to accompany the party chief.
She also apprehended that she might be barred to return to the country once she left the country.

Khaleda fails to get visa, cancels Saudi visit

BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia had to postpone her visit to Saudi Arabia to perform holy Umrah as she did not get the invitation letter from the Saudi government till yesterday, sources close to the BNP chief told The Independent. The former premier was scheduled to leave the country for Saudi Arabia yesterday onboard an Emirates Airlines flight in the evening. Several family members and some officials of her party were supposed to accompany her. But in the afternoon, party officials informed the press of the postponement of her visit. When contacted Major General (Retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim, chairman of the Kallyan Party, told The Independent that till last night Khaleda did not get the invitation letter from the Saudi government. Ibrahims Kallayn Party is a partner of the BNP-led 20 party alliance, headed by Khaleda. The invitation letter is mandatory to avail the visa, he explained. However, many term the delay in receiving of the invitation letter as an unusual incident because Khaleda used to perform the Umrah on the invitation of the Saudi King every year. It may be mentioned that Khaledas elder son, Tarique Rahman who is currently staying in London, was expected to board the same flight from Dubai toaccompany his mother. When contacted a senior leader of the UK unit of BNP told The Independent that Tarique also postponed his visit after being informed that Khaleda did not receive the invitation letter from the Saudi Government.In Saudi Arabia, Khaleda had plans to hold several meetings with Tarique, also the senior vice chairmen of the party, on different crucial issues including partys re-organisation and future course of the next anti-government movement. However, officials of the BNP chairperosns office, and BNP leaders kept mum over the visa issue. Earlier on Tuesday, Shyrul Kabir Khan, an official of the BNP chairpersons media wing, said Khaleda Zia is going to Saudi Arabia on an invitation of the Saudi king. After a three-day stay in Media, Khaleda will go to Mecca with her entourage to perform holy Umrah. She will pass the Shab-e-Qadr at Masjid al-Haram in Mecca Shyrul said. The BNP chairperson also had plans to visit the Rawja Mubarak of Prophet Mohammed (SM) and offer prayer at Masjid-e-Nababi in Medina, he said adding that the BNP chairperson was scheduled expected to return home on July 17 prior to the Eid-ul-Fitr. According to party sources, a list of 15 members was sent to Saudi embassy. The list includes Tarique Rahman, his wife and children, late Arafat Rahman Kokos wife and children, Khaledas younger brother Shamim Iskandar and his wife Kaniz Fatema and two officials of Gulshan office. Meanwhile, after the cancellation of the trip some party leader told the media that Khaleda postponed the visit considering the domestic political situation. Since party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and many other senior leaders were in jail, Khalda felt that it would not be wise to leave the country right now. They also said that police tried to nab some leaders of the party who were scheduled to accompany the party chief. She also apprehended that she might be barred to return to the country once she left the country.