Embattled Latif finally returns home with arrest warrants pending

UNB, Dhaka : Braving several court warrants pending for his arrest, sacked minister Abdul Latif Siddique returned home on Sunday night, nearly two months after his disparaging remarks against Islam in the USA. The former Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the city from Kolkata by an Air India flight around 8:40pm. Later, he left the airport, under the escort of law enforcers, for an undisclosed location through the domestic terminal of the airport, said sources close to Latif Siddique’s family. A number of courts across the country, including ones in Dhaka, Chittagong and Narail, issued warrants for the arrest of Abdul Latif in separate cases filed for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims with his derogatory comments. He also faces dozens of cases filed against him for his disparaging remarks. At a views-exchange meeting with expatriates from Tangail in New York on September 28, Latif Siddique made disparaging remarks about hajj, one of the main pillars of Islam, and Tablig Jamaat. He had said: “During hajj, too much of manpower is wasted. Over 20 lakh people have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj. They’ve no work, no production and they only cause deduction.” “Some 20 lakh Tablig Jamaat people get together annually who don’t do any work except halting traffic movement across the country,” he added. His remarks triggered widespread criticisms both at home and abroad. Latif Siddique was dropped from the cabinet and expelled from Awami League for his derogatory comments.