Nearly 800 pilgrims have died in the stampede at Mina because for unknown reasons two passages were reportedly closed by the Saudi security authorities. This gruesome tragedy has occurred shortly after the crane crash that killed over 100 pilgrims. It is time sanity prevailed and the security of pilgrims was not compromised.
It has been almost five days now and yet – according to some reports – over 200 Pakistanis are still missing, which only points to the incompetence and sheer criminal negligence of our ambassador, his staff, members of the Haj Directorate and hundreds others who have gone to Saudi Arabia at state expense as members of the delegation tasked to serve pilgrims. If the Iranians have been able to tabulate their fatalities and casualties, why can our embassy and hundreds of staff on temporary and permanent posting to Jeddah and Makkah not do the same? All it takes is a visit to hospitals and mortuaries. It is time our government regulated Haj tour operators so as to protect pilgrims instead of the powerful lobby that dominates this lucrative trade.
Ali Tariq
Lahore