DHAKA: Bangladesh has sacked a top minister after his criticism of Haj triggered protests by Islamists who declared him an apostate and set a 24-hour deadline to replace him. Abdul Latif Siddique, the country’s telecommunications minister, who is in New York accompanying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, made the comments which were aired by television stations. Siddique said: “I am dead against Haj and Tablig Jamaat. Two million people have gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj. Haj is a waste of manpower. Those who perform Haj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy, spend a lot of money abroad.” The comments drew immediate protests from Islamist group Hefajat-e-Islam whose leaders called him “an apostate” and set a 24-hour deadline to the government to sack him from the Cabinet. AFP
