As many as 10 Pakistani pilgrims who had gone to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage this year are still missing, another three are in jail in a theft case, while three others involved in a money laundering case have been released. This was informed to the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Wednesday. The committee met in the chair of Senator Maulana Hafiz Hamdullah in the Parliament House.
The Director General Hajj informed the committee members that a total of 90 Pakistani pilgrims, including 55 men and 35 women, died during the Hajj this year while 4,000 of the total pilgrims were provided residence in five-star hotels in Saudi Arabia. He said the effective management during the Hajj had helped reduce complaints as the pilgrims were provided with three times meal while 12 dispensaries had also been set up to provide medical facilities to the pilgrims.
Senator Saleh Shah suggested that issues related to Hajj should be explained in the Friday sermons to create awareness about it; so that pilgrims don't get into snapping videos and photos during their stay in Makkah and Medina. Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf informed the committee members that the government has returned Rs 10,000 to each pilgrim on their return from Saudi Arabia while a bill relating to Hajj and Umra is being drafted to further improve the service.
He said the Prime Minister also approved a four-month honorarium for the employees of the ministry for their best efforts to improve the Hajj services. Chairman Pakistan Madrassa Board, Muhammad Amir informed the committee members that they received around 500 applications from different religious seminaries for the affiliation, but only 106 of them have so far been given the accreditation.
He said that total annual budget of the Madrassa Board is Rs 4.5 million and this is distributed among the religious seminaries in Karachi, Islamabad and Sukkur. The female students in Islamabad are provided with Rs 1,000 monthly stipend and free residence, he added.
Senator Raja Zafarul Haq said that the rulers who made the Madrassa Board knew nothing about the religious seminaries and they only withdrew the Islamic chapters from syllabus to appease the West. The chairman of the committee said that Madrassa Board has been reduced to a useless entity as not a single board meeting has been held during the last eleven years. He directed the ministry officials to present details of total students enrolled in the religious seminaries and the annual expenditures being incurred on their education.