President, PM, top ministers, CJ abroad

The President, prime minister, foreign minister and 12 other members of the Cabinet are now out of the country, all at the same time which is something rare. President Abdul Hamid has set off for Saudi Arabia on a Biman flight that left Dhaka at 2am today (Wednesday). The President will perform the Hajj there on invitation from the Saudi Arabian King. His Press Secretary Ehsanul Karim said President Hamid will return home on Oct 10. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is now in the UK after attending the UN General Assembly in New York, is scheduled to return tomorrow (Thursday). She left Dhaka for the USA on Sept 21 along with a good number of the 51 Cabinet ministers. Among them, Forest Minister Anwar Hossain Monju is set to return on Wednesday while Health Minister Mohammad Nasim will return on Oct 3. Meanwhile, Finance Minister AMA Muhith has stayed back in the US to attend the annual meeting of the World Bank-IMF in Washington and the Commonwealth conference of finance ministers. He will return on Oct 17. Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal went to South Korea on Sept 20 to attend a meeting of the ADB. He is yet to return and ministry officials could not confirm when he will. Meanwhile, ministers Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Motiur Rahman, Rashed Khan Menon and Hasanul Haq Inu are now in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali also left Dhaka on Tuesday night to attend the Hajj as well Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and Cabinet Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan. Post, Telecoms and ICT Minister Adbul Latif Siddiqui, who has drawn much attention with his comments over the Hajj and PM’s son Sajeeb Wajed Wazed Joy, is now in Mexico. His deputy, state minister for ICT Junaid Ahmad Palak is accompanying him. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid is expected to return from Australia on Oct 5. Law Minister Anisul Huq went to the US on Sept 23 on invitation from the country's Justice Department. He is scheduled to come back on Oct 10. Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman is now in the US for medical treatment of his wife. Ministry officials could not confirm when he would be back. State minister for labour Mujibul Haque Chunnu is on an official visit in France while the state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam, who was part of the PM's entourage, was scheduled to return from the US on Tuesday night. Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain has gone to South Korea on Sept 26 to attend the ‘Third Congress of the World Conference of Constitutional Justice’ organised by the country’s Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court is now on holiday and the chief justice is set to return on Oct 3. Among the PM’s entourages, Food Minister Quamrul Islam has returned home from the US and is now in Bangladesh, according to a news agency.