Saudi envoy denies visa stoppage reports

Dhaka, Feb 6 (bdprem.com)—Saudi Arabia Wednesday made it clear that it had not stopped issuing visas to Bangladeshi workers. "There is no change in the visa policy for Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia," Saudi Ambassador to Dhaka Abdullah Al-Obaid Al-Namla told reporters after meeting foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury at the foreign ministry. Your Ad Here The Saudi Ambassador added that his country had granted 132,000 visas for Bangladeshi workers in the past 6 months. The Saudi embassy issued 5,400 visas for Bangladeshi workers in the first six days of February alone, he said. The foreign adviser after the meeting repested the assertions of the Saudi envoy: "The Saudi ambassador has stated that there is no change in the visa policy for Bangladeshis." "They have been issuing visas regularly," Iftekhar said. On the alleged harassment of Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia, Al-Namla said he had no information to hand on the subject. However, the ambassador said: "It is not possible that police will harass innocent people." "Those who allege harassment are perhaps being questioned for overstaying their visa or for other illegal activities," Al-Namla said. He also sounded a note of warning that any Bangladeshi 'offenders' would be tried as per the Saudi kingdom's laws. "Some people may break laws. Action will be taken against the wrongdoers as per our laws," said Al-Namla, adding that no society will allow any anti-social activities. On return of the bodies of Bangladeshis who were killed in a road accident in Saudi Arabia on Jan 31, the envoy said only: "The Bangladesh mission there knows about it." The ambassador and adviser met following a number of reports in the media here and in Saudi Arabia that the Saudi government had banned Bangladeshi workers. Newspapers here also reported that the Saudi government was harassing whom the reporters termed "innocent Bangladeshi workers", an allegation vehemently denied by the Saudi ambassador. There are 175,0000 Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia, the largest labour market for Bangladesh.