Khaleda flies to S Arabia Friday
September 10, 2009 00:00:00
BNP chairperson and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Khaleda Zia will fly for Saudi Arabia Friday to perform Umrah in Makkah at the invitation of the Saudi government, reports UNB.
After the January 11, 2007 changeover that threw her and many other top politicians behind bars, this will be the first visit of the ex-premier outside the country.
During the past military-backed caretaker government's two-year regime, Khaleda Zia was repeatedly pressured for leaving the country, but she refused to go abroad.
She was arrested on September 3, 2007 and detained in a special prison for about one year.
Family members of Khaleda Zia accompanying her on the holy trip for performing Umrah include her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko's wife and two daughters and her brother Shamim Eskander and his wife.