Hajj for Bangladeshis may resume in 2022: State Minister

State Minister for Religious Affair Md Faridul Haque Khan said Muslims from Bangladesh will be able to perform Hajj on a priority basis from 2022 if the Covid-19 situation improves.

He also noted that those who have already pre-registered for Hajj will be able to go to Saudi Arabia on priority basis.

The state minister made the remarks while addressing an inter-ministerial meeting of the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Wednesday afternoon.

"Due to the global pandemic, Hajj prayers were held on a limited scale in 2020 and 2021. No pilgrims from abroad got a chance to go to Saudi Arabia," he said. 

The state minister said if any pre-registered and registered person wants to withdraw the deposited money, he can do it by submitting application following the prescribed rules.

He further said if the passports of the registered pilgrims have expired, arrangements will be made to renew them in case of going for Hajj in 2022.

At present 53,423 people are registered. The number of pre-registered persons under government management is 5,224 and the number of pre-registered persons under private management is 1,74,154.