An employee of Kotadu Power Company (KAPCO) Abdul Rehman and his spouse Shehnaz Begum, residents of Jehanian (Khanewal District) have martyred in a stampede during Hajj at Mina near the holy city of Makkah, officials and relatives told here on Monday.
Their "Ghaibana" funeral prayers were offered at KAPCO after Isha prayers on Saturday which was largely attended by the employees. Their son Kamar Rehman is a chemist in this company. They have left four sons and a daughter behind them. One of their sons Zeeshan was doing job in Iraq, Usman is a student of Islambad University and fourth was student in Medical college in Bahawalpur.
Among the martyrdoms which have been confirmed on Monday was that of six-year-old Samreen Bibi D/o Haji Muhammad, a resident of Multan, who had travelled with her family to Makkah to perform the holy Hajj pilgrimage. Samreen's father worked as a taxi-driver in Makkah.
Another casualty confirmed today was that of martyr Tauseef Iftikhar from Rahim Yar Khan. Iftikhar's family has confirmed his death and that he had been laid to rest in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has issued a list of names confirming the martyrdom of nine other Pakistanis in the stampede Hafsa Shoaib, Zareen Nasim, Syeda Narjis Shahnaz, Bibi Zainab, Mahmood Arshad, Rasheedan Bibi, Zahid Gul, Dr Ameer Ali Lashari and Makhdoomzada Syed Asad Murtaza Gillani, ex-MNA, who was the nephew of former Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. Officials further told that authorities are yet to trace over 300 Pakistanis who had gone missing after the stampede. At least, 863 others were injured in the stampede caused by two large groups of pilgrims arriving together at a crossroads on their way to performing the "stoning the devil" ritual at Jamarat.