The parliamentary panel on religious affairs yesterday asked the ministry officials to be alert so Rohingya Muslims cannot use the Hajj pilgrim to go to Saudi Arabia using Bangladeshi passports as they did in the past.
At its maiden meeting, the parliamentary standing committee on Religious Affairs Ministry said the government must strongly deal with unscrupulous Hajj agents accused of human trafficking in the pretext of pilgrimage where over 2.2 million Bangladeshis work legally.
The Saudi authorities very often come with the allegation that many of the Bangladeshi passport holders are involved in criminal activities. Dhaka refutes the allegation, saying thousands of Myanmar Muslims, known as Rohingyas, going to Saudi Arabia with fake Bangladeshi passports are involved in crimes.
“We have recommended smooth management of the upcoming Hajj…The government must handle dishonest Hajj agents with an iron hand,” Awami League MP Bazlul Haque Haroon, chairman of the 10-member watchdog, told reporters after the meeting at the parliament building.
Replying to a question, he said: “We have asked the government to take measures so that no Rohingya can go to Saudi Arabia using Bangladeshi passports. They are defaming Bangladesh’s image abroad.”
The private agencies are the major players in taking Hajj pilgrims from Bangladesh.
Attending ministry officials informed the standing committee meeting that 101,758 Bangladeshis would perform Hajj this year and of them 10,000 people would go under public management while the rest were set to travel under private management.
They said out of the 628 agencies registered for Hajj management, 134 have been “blacklisted” for irregularities.
“Take legal actions against these agencies,” said the committee in its recommendation.
Committee members Habibur Rahman Mollah, Md Aslamul Haque, Mohammad Amir Hossain, Dilara Begum, AKMA Awal and Sadhan Chandra Majumder attended the meeting.
