Saudi airport curbs cancel or suspend 118 flights from Dhaka, affecting 18,362 passengers

Bangladesh has asked Saudi Arabia for a full account of the execution of two Bangladeshi nationals and says neither the foreign ministry nor the country's mission in the kingdom was notified in advance, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said on 18 October.

The two were executed in the Mecca region on 14 October, the same day Bangladesh learned of the case, Shama said. Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced the executions in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on 15 October, naming the pair as Nazrul Islam Abdul Basir and Siti Akhtar. The ministry said the two were arrested after what it described as immoral acts inside a mosque in Mecca, tried by a competent court and sentenced to death under ta'zir, the discretionary category of punishment in Islamic law.

The ministry said the sentences were upheld by the relevant judicial authority and a royal order authorised their implementation. It said the penalty reflected the seriousness of the offence and what it called a violation of the sanctity of the mosque.

Shama said the government had not yet received detailed official information from Riyadh. "Our mission was not informed of when or how the incident occurred," she said. "I do not wish to comment at this stage on why the mission was not notified, as the Saudi government has not yet provided us with complete details."

Asked whether Saudi Arabia had breached its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to notify Bangladesh before the trial, she said Dhaka first needed the full record. "Once we receive the full information, I will be able to explain the matter more clearly," she said, adding that the case should serve as a lesson.

Citing a message from the labour welfare wing of the Bangladesh mission, Shama said the two were alleged to have been involved in adultery inside a mosque in Mecca. She said she could not confirm identities or further details, and that the incident was still being verified with Saudi authorities.

On the return of the bodies, the state minister said both countries were processing the necessary formalities. "Only after receiving a clear picture from the Saudi government of what actually happened can we discuss the next steps, including how and when to bring their bodies back," she said.

The Cabinet has given in-principle approval to a plan to move the Bangladesh Secretariat from its present site on Abdul Gani Road to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, where 14 twelve-storey buildings are planned on about 31.58 acres of the former trade fair ground.

The decision was taken at the Cabinet's 25th meeting on Sunday, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat. Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani briefed reporters on the outcome afterwards.

The new complex would provide around 3.316 million square feet of office space, three basement levels, parking for 3,800 vehicles (200 of them above ground), a mosque, two 350-seat multipurpose halls, a cafeteria and a post office. About 30% of the site is reserved for greenery and water bodies. The design follows the Louis I Kahn master plan for Sher-e-Bangla Nagar and was prepared by the Department of Architecture after a decision by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

The existing Secretariat has around 1.876 million square feet of office space in 13 buildings on 17.57 acres, eight of which were built before independence. Several date to 1937-1947 and were not built to withstand earthquakes, and officials say space is well below demand. More than one million extra square feet are needed for ministries and divisions now operating outside the compound.

The government is aiming to open offices at the new site by 2029, and cost estimates are still being prepared. What will happen to the Abdul Gani Road site has not been settled; Gani said the district administration office and the subordinate courts in Old Dhaka could move there, but no final decision has been made.

At the same meeting the Cabinet also approved the draft of a special ordinance on rooftop solar power, targeting 3,000-4,000 megawatts of capacity before next summer; a proposal to rename the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs as the Ministry of Women and Children; and Bangladesh's proposed accession to the Rotterdam Convention on trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides.

The solar ordinance, given in-principle and final approval subject to vetting by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, sets out two financing models - Operational Expenditure and Capital Expenditure - and is intended to clarify investment, pricing and maintenance rules the government says current law leaves unclear.