Ordeal of a family going for Haj with private tour operator

Retired colonel seeks return of money, streamlining of Haj operations

PESHAWAR: A retired Pakistan Army colonel and his family have become the latest victim of the private Haj tour operators who want to make money by hook or by crook.

Colonel (R) Iqbal Shahin told The News that he had deposited Rs1.6 million with a private Haj tour operator in Mardan as the fee for four members of the family to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia this year, but they weren’t sent for Hajj and are still waiting for return of their money.

“We paid the money to Haj Shams of the Shams Travel Agent having his office at the Bus Adda in Mardan. He in turn was the agent for one Ateeq, owner of the Air World Travels in the Blue Area Islamabad,” Col (R) Iqbal Shahin explained. He said he, his wife, sister and his son Taimur Khan Shahin were supposed to go for Hajj but their plans for performing the pilgrimage never materialized.

According to Col (R) Iqbal Shahin, he and his son were supposed to fly to Saudi Arabia for Haj on August 29, but missed the flight as they were told quite late to reach faraway Faisalabad to catch the flight after having done their biometrics in Islamabad. “Another 51 intending pilgrims also missed the flight as they had to drive to Faisalabad all the way from Islamabad to catch the night-time flight to Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Explaining his ordeal and that of the other pilgrims, he said the travel agent fled and left them to fend for themselves in Faisalabad as they searched for a hotel where they could put up and get food.

While Coil (R) Iqbal Shahin returned home to Peshawar and gave up the idea of going for Hajj due to his bitter experience, his son decided to give it another try. “My son Taimur who is a Tableeghi flew in Air Arabia airline with the 52 other pilgrims to Sharjah on the way to Taif, Saudi Arabia on August 31, but they were held up by Saudi immigration officials at Taif airport because the travel agent without tell them had secured for them commercial visas instead of the Hajj visas. Taimur and a 95-year old Pakistani pilgrim spent the night without food in a lock-up that was chillingly cold as the airconditioning had been turned on. Two days later they were sent back to Sharjah and then had to buy an air ticket to return to Faisalabad,” he said.

He said there are good and bad people everywhere. “The travel agents and some officials mistreated the pilgrims. But there were certain good people such as a Saudi man who brought them food while spending time in the lock-up in Taif or the IB inspector Saud at the Faisalabad airport who took care of their needs after being deported to Pakistan.

Col (R) Iqbal Shahin recalled that he lodged a complaint against the private Hajj operator Haji Shams with the FIA Peshawar and its officials raided his office in Mardan, seized the computers and took his manager into custody. “Haji Shams who is in Saudi Arabia for Hajj has been calling and beseeching me.

He made us suffer so much and now he wants to be forgiven. I have complained to the ministry of Hajj and Auqaf and also to Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and am hoping that the unscrupulous Hajj tour operators would be punished and our money returned,” he said. “The government should streamline the Hajj operations and stop the private Hajj operators from fleecing the pilgrims,” he stressed.