People aged above 65 can’t perform Hajj this year: State Minister

Staff Reporter :
State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan on Monday stated that though the government will get only 34 days for entire Hajj management for Bangladeshi pilgrims this year, it would be able to manage the Hajj smoothly in a free and fair manner.
“This year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided not to allow the pilgrims above 65 years. It’s a policy decision of the Kingdom for all pilgrim sending countries. As a result, the above 65 pilgrims who have registered wouldn’t be allowed to go for performing Hajj,” he said while addressing a seminar on digital transactions in Shariah-based financial management in the country.
Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) with the cooperation of
Bangladesh Postal Department’s Mobile Financial Services, Nagad arranged the seminar at the Secretariat’s Media Center.
BSRF President Tapan Biswas chaired the seminar while its General Secretary Masudul Haque moderated the event. Among others, Director of Imam Training Academy of Islamic Foundation Md. Anisuzzaman Sikder, Chairman of Shariah Supervisory Committee of Nagad Islamic Prof. Dr. HM Shahidul Islam Barakati, Executive Director of Nagad Mohammad Aminul Haque also spoke.
Later, the state minister held an inter-ministerial meeting at his ministry over the preparedness of entire Hajj management with the stakeholders.
In the meeting, he asked the authorities to finalize Hajj packages for this year’s Hajj and announce complete preparation for allocation of spaces at the airports of the two countries, preparing flight schedules and fixing ticket prices and distributing air tickets through the Hajj agencies.
The speakers discussed on digital transactions in Shariah-based financial management, its overall growth and its role and advancement at the seminar. They also praised Nagad for ensuring full Shariah-based transactions by launching ‘Nagad Islamic accounts’ for the country’s devout customers.
The State Minister informed that the governments of the two countries will sign necessary agreements soon to send Bangladeshi pilgrims for Hajj after two years. He urged all for assisting the government to manage entire Hajj management for this year.
In this speech, he described ‘Nagad Islamic’ as an exceptional success in the realm of digital Shariah-based transactions and hailed the Nagad authorities.
“Mobile finance service Nagad is growing increasingly popular. For last three years, Nagad Islamic has been providing various sorts of Shariah-based transactions, allowing the people to conduct financial transactions digitally in accordance with the Islamic way of life,” he said.
The state minister said that customers may manage their own accounts and keep their hard-earned money in an interest-free way, and they can also conveniently pay for other costs such as Hajj and Umrah travel and Islamic life insurance payments at home. In addition, the portal includes a zakat calculation, contribution advantages, and prayer-specific features.
He said, “The postal department’s mobile finance service Nagad donates a portion of the revenues from consumer transactions to the development of various mosques and madrasas.
Nagad Executive Director Mohammad Aminul Haque stated that it has now 60 million subscribers in just three years. Country’s Muslim population accounts for around 90 percent of the total population. With this in mind, it has the Nagad Islamic account.