In a strange coincidence within less than two months, the Head of state and the Head of government remains away from the country together, as both president Zillur Rahman and prime minister Sheikh Hasina left the capital yesterday on official visits abroad.

The president left for Turkey on a six-day tour to attend COMCEC economic summit under the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) while the prime minister for Bhutan on a four-day bilateral visit. The country first experienced such absence of the Head of the state and the Head of government in last September. On September 22, the president went to Saudi Arabia to attend the inaugural ceremony of an international university in Jeddah and the prime minister left Dhaka for New York on September 20 to attend the 64th UN General Assembly session.

-The Independent