BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is scheduled to leave Dhaka for Saudi Arabia today.

“The chairperson will leave the capital for Mecca at 7:30pm," her Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan Sohel said.

She will stay there for about ten days of Ramadan to perform Umrah and Itiqaf (special prayers), he said adding that the former prime minister is expected to return here after the holyShab-e-Qadr.

According to her schedule, the BNP chairperson will stay in Saudi Arabia as royal guest and perform the Itiqaf at the Masjid-e-Nabvi at Mecca just like every year, Maruf Kamal said.

During the visit, Khaleda will be accompanied by several others including her younger brother Shamim Eskander's wife and their sons.