PIA increases fares for Umra up to Rs. 2,000

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to increase the fares for Hajj and Umra. After the increase, Rs. 69,080 would be charged as Umra fare.

Meanwhile, after 6 percent increase, the Hajj package fare has been increased from 100,000 to 106,000 and short term Hajj fare has been increased from 120,000 to 1,27000.

According to the sources, PIA has devised a plan to increase Umra fares after every two weeks due to the increasing number of passengers.

Hajj scam: SC asks Govt to pull DG FIA out of probe

Expressing dissatisfaction over the probe being conducted by FIA, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the government to remove DG FIA Wseem Ahmed, who is alleged of influencing the Hajj corruption scandal probe, trendpk.com reported.

During the hearing of a suo moto notice of Hajj corruption scam, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday maintained, The court is fed up of the way the case is being probed.

While Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry observed that Interior Minister Rehman Malik has told the court that he has the discretionary power to exclude any name from the Exit Control List (ECL) whereas the power resides with the Interior Secretary. DG FIA Waseem Ahmed told the court that he has written to the government to exclude him from the ongoing investigation into the Hajj corruption. In the meantime, former federal minister Azam Swati has also submitted more evidence into the apex court and expressed dissatisfaction with the FIA probe. The court subsequently adjourned the hearing to January 20.

Hajj mission be scrapped, Ministry asks Senate body

The Ministry for religious affairs told Senate standing committee that Hamid Saeed Kazmi issued Hajj quota to 500-800 people against the policy and recommended scrapping of the Hajj mission.

Officials of the said ministry told the Standing committees meeting held under the chair of Senator Saleh Shah that Kazmi did away with the Hajj quota earmarked for the 8 to 10 parliamentarians and afterwards took Rs25,000 for each quota. It was further revealed that around 250 people performed Hajj for free thanks to the ministry corrupt top-notch officials. The committee sought the list of all those people who allegedly went to Saudi for free. The committee has also decided to set up another sub-committee to further probe the scam. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik revealed that corruption worth 1.6 million Saudi Riyals took place in the Hajj scam. Earlier, the FIA reportedly arrested Abdullah Khokar, brother-in-law of Hamid Saeed Kazmi, in relation to the corruption case.

Hajj scam: More religious ministry staff members found involved

FIA extended the circle of its investigation into the Hajj corruption case after it managed to get hands on evidence regarding the involvement of some staff members of religious affairs ministry.

According to the sources, evidence has been found, which confirmed the alleged involvement of some staff members of the religious ministry deputed in Saudi Arabia in the accommodation scam in two holy cities of Makkah and Medina.

It is also learnt that action would be taken to arrest the accused soon for which FIA would contact the Interpol. Efforts are also underway to collect more proof regarding Hamid Saeed Kazmi, ex-minister for religious affairs and secretary for religious affairs Agha Sarwar.

Rare, Heavy rains soak Pilgrims in Haj

Rare, heavy rainstorms soaked pilgrims and flooded the road into Mecca, snarling Islam’s annual hajj as millions of Muslims headed for the holy sites. The downpours add an extra hazard on top of intense concerns about the spread of swine flu.

Pilgrims in white robes porting umbrellas, some wearing face masks for fear of the flu, circled the black cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca, the opening rite for the hajj. But the shrine — Islam’s holiest site — and the nearby, rain-soaked streets did not see the usual massive crowds, because many tried to stay inside nearby hotels or were caught up in the traffic jams heading into the city.

The hajj — a lifetime dream for Muslims to cleanse their sins — is always a logistical nightmare, as a population the size of a small city moves between Mecca and holy sites in the nearby desert over the course of four days.

In the past, the rites have been plagued by deadly stampedes caused by congestion as the massive crowds perform the rituals — and Saudi authorities Wednesday were clearly concerned the rains could worsen the potential dangers. Civil authorities urged pilgrims to move cautiously and not to rush.

This year has brought the added worry that the massing of more than 3 million people from around the world could bring a swine flu outbreak. For months ahead of the pilgrimage, the Saudi government has been working with the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention to set up clinics and precautionary measures to stem any outbreak.

So far, four pilgrims have died from the H1N1 virus since arriving in Saudi Arabia in recent days, and 67 pilgrims have been diagnosed with the virus, Saudi Health Minister Abdullah Al Rabeeah told the Arab news network Al Jazeera English.

Shahul Ebrahim, a consultant from the Atlanta, Georgia-based CDC at the hajj, said it was too early to tell if the rains could exacerbate the spread of H1N1, the flu virus.

‘Rain can lead to other waterborne diseases … such as the common cold, flu. But we still don’t know how it will effect H1N1. We can’t predict,’ he told The Associated Press.

So far, the rain was mainly just causing traffic snarls. Winter is the rainy season in Mecca, and light showers are not uncommon, but such a heavy downpour has not been seen for years during hajj. The pilgrimage takes place according to Islam’s lunar calendar, and so rotates through the year.

Civil Defense spokesman Maj. Abdullah Al Harthi said his organization has plans ready to deal with flooding, including 300 buses to evacuate pilgrims if necessary. He said no casualties have been reported from the rains, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

One lane of the main road into Mecca was closed by flooding, reducing it to one lane, said Amer Al Amer, an Interior Ministry spokesman. ‘It cannot handle the pressure of all the people coming from outside Mecca,’ he said, adding that it would cause delays of several hours for people trying to reach the sites.

The numbers of pilgrims are expected to exceed last year, when some 3 million attended, Al Amer told AP.

Streets were flooded in the Red Sea coastal city of Jiddah, the entry point for many pilgrims. Pilgrims on Wednesday were making their way to Mecca to perform the circling of the Kaaba and to the nearby desert valley of Mina, where a sprawling tent city has been set up for them to reside in.

Water covered the floors in many of the tents, said Suleiman Hamad, a 29-year-old pilgrim in Mina. He said the scene was ‘muddy, but manageable,’ with many pilgrims throwing blankets over their heads when they walked outside.

Rain fell sporadically throughout the day, and stopped by late afternoon in many sites — though it continued to fall in Mecca. Al Amer and other authorities were optimistic that flooded areas would dry by evening. Courtesy khaleejtimes.com

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Rare, Heavy rains soak Pilgrims in Haj was first posted on November 25, 2009 at 8:32 pm.