The opposition members in the Upper House on Tuesday staged a token walkout to protest what they called an “unsatisfactory answer” by Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Yousaf about the whereabouts of missing Pakistani pilgrims.
The minister informed the Senate that at least 99 Pakistanis were martyred in the Mina tragedy, adding that Saudi officials had confirmed martyrdom of 70 Pakistani pilgrims and they had been laid to rest.
He told the Senate that 29 martyred Pakistanis had been identified by their families and they would be laid to rest after confirmation from Saudi officials. He further infirmed the House that two Pakistani pilgrims were being treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
When Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani asked the minister if the 18 missing Pakistani pilgrims would be forgotten or if the Saudi and Pakistani governments failed to locate them, Yousaf replied that the incident was being investigated by the Saudi government which does not allow interference in Hajj-related matters. Apparently he was unable to give a satisfactory answer.
Expressing his views, Pakistan People’s Party Senator Farhatullah Babar said that “exact information about Pakistani victims was not shared with the House and the government is trying to hide the correct details”.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Senator Mohsin Aziz Khan also questioned the “efforts being made to facilitate the families of victims and those injured in the Mina incident”.
Senator Usman Kakar strongly criticised Saudi officials over “their failure to facilitate pilgrims despite earning billions of dollars”. He also blamed Saudi officials for their ‘carelessness’.
The ‘carelessness of Saudi authorities’, which resulted in the death of more than 750 pilgrims, has already come under strong criticism by some Senators in the Upper House.
