The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, left the country for Saudi Arabia Thursday afternoon to perform Umrah.
Fakhrul along with his wife Rahat Ara Begum left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight at about 3:15pm, his personal assistant M Yunus Ali said.
He said that the BNP leader and his wife would first go to Medina to offer fateha at the grave of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and offer prayers in the Prophet's Mosque.
Later, they will go to Makkah to perform the holy Umrah and offer prayers in Masjid al-Haram.
The BNP leader is scheduled to return home on May 8 .
Mirza Fakhrul was arrested on October 29, the day after the BNP's grand rally in Dhaka's Naya Paltan was foiled by the police. He was released on bail on February 15 after almost three and a half months of imprisonment.
The BNP secretary general has been suffering from various physical complications since going to jail. His wife Rahat Ara Begum is also sick.
After his release from jail, the couple went to Singapore for treatment on March 4.