Although the deadline to submit passports for performing Hajj this year expires tomorrow, Hajj agencies were yet to submit passports of 15,599 pilgrims to the Saudi Embassy for visas until yesterday afternoon.  If the passports are not submitted within the timeframe, the quota for Bangladeshis -- 1,27,198 – will remain unfulfilled, sources concerned said.

The Saudi Embassy has so far issued visas for 1,11,599 pilgrims and 65,784 have already left Bangladesh to perform Hajj, sources in the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) said.

The foreign ministry, in a press release issued yesterday, said no visa application for this year’s Hajj are pending with the Saudi Arabian embassy in Dhaka.

“Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to inform that 1,18,924 pilgrims' visas have been approved by Saudi authorities as of 14 August 2017,” it said, adding, “The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Dhaka has informed that there is no pending application with them.”

“Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely working with the Saudi authorities in this regard,” it added. About 67,000 pilgrims have left Dhaka for Jeddah till yesterday, Abdul Jalil, secretary of the religious affairs ministry, told this correspondent.

“Insha Allah, we hope we'll be able to send all the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia by August 27,” he added. According to Biman Bangladesh sources, eight Hajj flights are scheduled to leave for Jeddah. Saudi Arabia Airlines will operate four Hajj flights from Dhaka. Biman Bangladesh has so far carried 29,373 Hajj pilgrims on 99 flights and the Saudi airlines 34,832 on 105 flights.