A civil engineer by profession and a resident of Bhimbher, Azad Kashmir, Iftikhar Ahmed Khilji, has presented a formula for cutting down the Haj and travel expenditure down to Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 in a plan which he says would also increase trade and improve Pakistan’s ties with the Middle East, Pakistan Today has learnt.
“The plan is simple, all the government of Pakistan has to do is to seek financial support from the governments in the Middle East to construct an underwater tunnel from Gwadar or Jewani to Oman,” Khilji said, adding that the government of Oman was already constructing a 700km motorway from Muscat to Riyadh and it was in its final stages of completion.
“I have spent years studying civil engineering and I think this is a viable plan,” he said.
“Once and international standard motorway runs through the country, trade and other activities will also improve,” he said, adding “China and the Middle East are working towards improved bilateral ties and if we can give them a safe passage, by road, we can make millions to stabilise our economy,” he added. “I have made all the calculations and with all the taxes in and outside Pakistan, the maximum a single pilgrimage to Makkah would cost is Rs 30,000,” he said.
Khilji said the government could keep the cost minimum for the haj and umra travellers while it could impose greater taxes on people using the motorway and the tunnel for trade or personal purposes. “I am a civil engineer and I have been working as an SDO in Kashmir for a long time. This plan is very feasible and I am willing to resign from my post to work on it, if given the chance,” said Khilji.
“All the four provinces of Pakistan are pretty much connected by road and rail links. Once the government can successfully negotiate with the Middle Eastern countries for the construction of Eurotunnel-like link between Oman and Gwadar, it would then be a matter of time till we will start seeing the fruits of this direct road link with the Middle East,” he said.
Khijli, a brilliant student in school, joined University of Engineering and Technology for studying civil engineering. “There are many people in my village who want to go to Makkah for pilgrimage and I can relate to their pain, because I want to go too. The current expenditure for one person is Rs 250,000 to Rs 300,000 and it is way above what a normal person can afford,” Khilji said while talking to Pakistan Today, adding “I channelled my pain into coming up with an idea that can potentially benefit many, including the country’s economy.”
Khilji even suggested that with improved ties with the Middle East, the sense of deprivation of Sindh and Balochistan could also be catered for since these provinces would benefit the most from the inflow of trade and economic activities. When asked if he did not his idea was far-fetched and impossible, the enthusiastic civil engineer replied, “China was very insecure during the Ming dynasty and it kept losing to its enemies. Some villagers decided to construct a protective wall around their own village and others copied. Soon all these walls were joined to form what we know today as the Great Wall of China. History is a witness to how this wall benefited the Chinese back then and how their economic and social condition improved. All of it began with just a few villagers.”
A link that can fulfil many dreams
