The payment of 250 Saudi Riyals (Rs 5700) each to 25,000 Pakistani Hujjaj is less than half of the 700 (Rs 15960) Saudi Riyals they paid for their four day stay in Mina and Arafat where they were provided no accommodation or facilities. The Pakistani Hujjaj were not even provided tents when they arrived in Mina to perform an important Hajj ritual, some officials in Religious Affairs Ministry revealed to Business Recorder on condition of anonymity.
Men, women and children were compelled to sleep in the open. Seven hundred Saudi Riyals were charged from every Pakistani pilgrim for four-day stay in Mina and Arafat, and were promised tents, Moalim (Guide) and other facilities. After the intervention of the Pakistan Embassy in Saudi Arabia supplementary tents, water tankers and makeshift bathrooms were provided to the Pakistani Hujjaj. However, many thousands of the Hujjaj could not get these facilities as well, sources said.
The Religious Affairs Ministry failed to convince the Saudi government to reimburse the 700 Riyals to the Pakistani pilgrims. This scribe could not contact the Minister for Religious Affairs for comments as he is currently in Saudi Arabia. Secretary Religious Affairs, Agha Sarwar Raza Qazilbash when contacted revealed to Business Recorder that four 'Makatib' (consisting of 5000 Hujjaj were not provided the facilities they had paid for and later the Religious Affairs Ministry included a fifth 'Maktab', which was a quite a distance from the others.
He further said that the Religious Affairs Ministry has lodged a strong protest with Saudi government for mismanagement and has succeeded in getting partial reimbursement for the pilgrims. Secretary Religious Affairs declined to comment on statements made by Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, Minister for Science and Technology and Umar Ali Sherzai, Pakistan's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, blaming the Minister of Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi for the plight of the 25000 Hujjaj.
"All the statements and allegations were levelled against the Minister of Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi and the Ministry has nothing to do with this matter", he said, adding, "After details are available only then will I be in a position to comment on this issue".
"It is a political issue and I have nothing to do with politics", Qazilbash said. Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia Umar Ali Sherzai has expressed his dismay over problems faced by the Hujjaj and demanded a judicial inquiry. Pakistan envoy held the Minister for Religious Affairs responsible for mismanagement and said that the Pakistani embassy in Saudi Arabia was not involved in the arrangements made for the Hujjaj.
Saudi Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Faisal on November 3 wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in which he highlighted corruption in the accommodation provided to the Pakistani Hujjaj at Makkah. Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry took suo motu notice of the letter and directed the Ministry for Religious Affairs to submit an explanation within 15 working days.
Sources in Religious Affairs Ministry revealed to this scribe that the Ministry has prepared a report to submit to the apex court in one or two days. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs also took serious note of the corruption in provision of accommodation to Hujjaj and directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to hold an inquiry.
The FIA on November 13 arrested former Director Hajj Rao Shakeel from his residence in Lahore. Rao Shakeel allegedly rented out cheap residences to Hujjaj in Makkah and Medina at inflated rates and allegedly misappropriated funds worth millions of rupees. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has also directed the FIA to investigate the matter and charge those found guilty in this Hajj scam. Prime Minister Gilani has also constituted a committee to probe the matter and it is not clear if this would duplicate the efforts of the FIA.
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