Troops if necessary for Mecca, Madina: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assured Saudi Arabia it will send its troops to Mecca Haram Shareef and Madina Shareef if necessary.

“PM Hasina has said spontaneously [to Saudi] that if any alliance is formed to protect these two holy sites, Bangladesh Army will be sent to join,” Cabinet Secretary M Shafiul said after weekly cabinet meeting today.

“This is the prime minister’s pledge,” he said while replying to a query if any discussion was held about Bangladesh’s possibility of joining the current Saudi-led military alliance.  

The cabinet meeting was held at the Jatiya Sangshad Bhaban but the briefing was held at Bangladesh Secretariat. PM Hasina informed her cabinet colleagues about the outcome of her recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

The cabinet adopted a resolution greeting the PM for becoming as the one of the world's most powerful women in 2016. Sheikh Hasina's ranked 36 position in the list of "World's Most Powerful Women in 2016"according to US magazine Forbes.

The cabinet approved National Cadet Corp Act-2016 in order to bring BNCC under a legal framework.