National

Hajj visa application deadline extended till Sunday

The Saudi Arabian Embassy here has extended the deadline of receiving visa applications from intending Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims till Sunday.“They (Saudi Embassy) assured us of receiving our visa applications till Sunday,” Hajj Camp Director Saiful Islam said on Friday, reports BSS.The official deadline of submitting hajj visa applications to Saudi Embassy ended on August 17 but there remained around 5000 pilgrims who failed to apply for visa till yesterday.“Today, we have received good numbers of applications..... hopefully we will be able to submit most of the left over visa applications by tomorrow,” Islam said.Earlier, the religious affairs ministry appealed to Saudi authority through foreign ministry for extending the deadline till Monday, Islam said.So far, 122,973 out of total 127,198 intending pilgrims got visa and 73,045 hajjis left here for Saudi Arabia, official source said.Biman Bangladesh, the national flag carrier, will continue Hajj flights until Aug 26 where Saudia Airlines till Aug 27.