Decision for Nora’s arrival in Dhaka is still ongoing, say organisers

Yesterday, a circular signed by the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Mohammad Khaled Hossain was circulated. The documents noted that Nora Fatehi's visit to Bangladesh, for the Global Achievers Award programme, had been denied by the ministry.

According to the circular, Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi could not be given permission to participate in the Global Achievers Award programme, organised by the Women's Leadership Corporation, which was supposed to be held on November 18.

The circular noted that the reason why Nora had been denied permission to perform in Bangladesh, was due to the current global condition and situation surrounding the dollar crunch.

However, according to the organisers, the decision is still in progress, and has not been finalised.

Last month, Mirror Group asked for permission to bring the actress for a private programme, however, they were denied permission by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, for similar reasons.

The president of the Women Leadership Corporation, Sharna Mria Mrittik is still hopeful that they will get the authorisation for Nora Fatehi's entrance to Bangladesh.

"Our application has not been denied," she told The Daily Star, adding, "The circular which was published was based on the previous application. Mirror group had initially sent a legal notice to Nora and the relevant ministries responsible for handling permissions for such situations. As a result, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs denied Nora the permission to perform at our programme. Based on that notice, our organisation's name was included. However, Mirror group have now withdrawn all the complaints, and our application is still pending."

According to Sharna, she met with the Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs—along with her lawyer—and was informed that their application is still pending. According the Secretary, the final decision will be made once the Minister of Cultural Affairs, K M Khalid, MP returns from London later this week.

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Nora Fatehi might perform for 40 minutes in Dhaka

Sharna also shared that negative reporting by media outlets has been hampering the whole situation, creating pressure from Nora Fatehi's side as well.

"The final decision will be made on Thursday, and we can only come to a conclusion then," said Sharna.

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Nora Fatehi denied permission to perform in Dhaka

Nora was supposed to perform in a total of three outfits—while also distributing awards at the Global Achievers Award programme. The actress had even posted a video message, sharing how she was excited to come to Bangladesh for the programme.