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Friday March 29, 2024

Mina compensation

The tragedy at Mina raises some serious questions about the measures taken by the Saudi authorities for the safety of pilgrims. But it is premature to blame anyone before the real reasons are identified since there are conflicting accounts regarding the tragedy.It seems our government is reluctant to ask the

By our correspondents
October 09, 2015
The tragedy at Mina raises some serious questions about the measures taken by the Saudi authorities for the safety of pilgrims. But it is premature to blame anyone before the real reasons are identified since there are conflicting accounts regarding the tragedy.
It seems our government is reluctant to ask the Saudi authorities to quicken the pace of identifying bodies and those who are still regarded as missing. Relatives of the missing persons are still running from pillar to post to know about the fate of their near and dear ones. The blame for this delay is being attributed to our embassy staff for not acting fast enough. There is no doubt that the Saudi government has spent billions to cater to the needs of a growing number of pilgrims. But the responsibility of an incident this huge however still rests with the Saudi government – especially when such stampedes have taken place before also. Suitable compensation by the Saudi government for all those martyred would be in order.
Cdre (r) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari
Islamabad