Bangladesh unveils special App for Hajj pilgrims 'Labbayek'

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today inaugurated Labbaik, a government-developed mobile application designed to facilitate services for Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims. Speaking at the launch ceremony at the state guest house Jamuna, the chief adviser said the app would play an important role in ensuring pilgrims can perform their religious duties without difficulty.

"As it is helpful in performing religious duties and has various features including health services, this app will make a great contribution to Hajj pilgrims in performing the Hajj smoothly," he said, urging pilgrims to use the new service.

Although Labbaik will be operational from the beginning of this year's Hajj, the chief adviser directed concerned ministries and departments to work towards integrating the app from the initial stages of pilgrimage planning from next year.

Yunus added that Bangladesh would seek to learn from countries more advanced in Hajj management and expressed the government's willingness to provide the technical framework of Labbaik free of charge to countries without similar systems.

He also emphasised the need to make the app more user-friendly and error-free in future updates, according to the chief adviser's press wing. The launch of the app is expected to ease not only the religious observance of pilgrims but also their travel to and from Saudi Arabia, he said.

Alongside the app, the chief adviser also inaugurated the Hajj prepaid card and Hajj roaming package facilities.

Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostafa Sarwar Farooki, and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb were present at the event.

Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to operate its first Hajj flight carrying 419 pilgrims from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 3:00am tonight, said Bushra Islam, general manager (public relations) of Biman.

According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, a total of 87,100 pilgrims from Bangladesh have registered for this year's Hajj. Of them, 5,200 will perform Hajj under government management, while 81,900 will travel under private arrangements.

Biman will carry half of the pilgrims, with the remainder transported by Saudi carriers Saudia and Flynas. This year's Hajj is expected to take place on June 5, subject to the sighting of the moon.