Bangladesh has sacked a top minister after his criticism of Hajj 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 local television stations.
The comments drew immediate protests from the 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. A senior official told AFP Siddique would be removed but he did not comment whether it was linked to demand by the Islamists.
"The decision has been taken to remove him from the Cabinet," the official from the Prime Minister's Office said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added the decision would be effective after Hasina returns home. At a New York rally where Siddique was the lone speaker on Sunday, he was also heard making critical comments about Hasina's influential son and technology adviser, Sajeeb Wazed Joy. "Who is Joy? Joy is not part of the government."
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