President, PM, top ministers abroad

This is something rare.

President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and thirteen of her Cabinet members are now out of the country, all at the same time.

The President has left for Saudi Arabia on a flight that left Dhaka at 2am on Wednesday.

"The president will perform the Hajj this year on invitation from the Saudi king," his Press Secretary Ehsanul Karim told bdnews24.com . Hamid will return on Oct 10, the press secretary said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is now in the UK after attending the UN General Assembly at New York, is scheduled to return on Thursday.

Former Cabinet Secretary Akbar Ali Khan finds this 'something rare' -- the President, PM and thirteen top cabinet ministers out of the country at the same. Many secretaries are also accompanying their ministers.

A good number of the 51 ministers were part of the PM's entourage to US.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Food Minister Quamrul Islam have returned to Bangladesh from the US.

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 at 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 Siddique, who has drawn much attention with his comments over the Hajj and PM's son Sajeeb Ahmed 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 Md 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.

Former Cabinet Secretary Akbar Ali Khan says there was nothing to 'raise an alarm' over so many ministers going abroad at the same time as the President and PM.

"There's no such law in our country stipulating how many ministers can or can not be abroad at the same time," he told bdnews24.com.

"It's not that the sky will fall if several ministers are abroad the same time," added Khan.