ISLAMABAD: The operational plan of the General Presidency of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque is being implemented by 7,720 teams to serve pilgrims during this year’s Hajj season, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Around 200,000 Pakistani pilgrims will perform Hajj this year where most of them have already reached Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s director general for Hajj mission, Dr. Sajid Yousfani, last week told Arab News that the mission is “getting full support and co-operation” from Saudi officials to facilitate Pakistani Hajj pilgrims.
To facilitate the Hajj Pilgrims Saudi General Directorate of Passports (GDP) has appointed a number of students who can also speak Urdu, Pakistan’s National Language, to assist the pilgrims.
According the SPA Saudi teams are providing their services in all aspects of the plan. These include service, engineering, technical, technological, cultural, information, social aspects and oversight functions.
The staff are carrying out awareness initiatives to guide the worshippers in religious and organizational aspects in order to help them perform their rituals with comfort.
The service aspect is one of the most important field tasks in the operational plan of the agency. Staff working on these tasks are responsible for cleaning the Prophet’s Mosque, supplying all sites with carpets and Zamzam water, cleaning machinery and equipment, transferring older persons and people with special needs, providing guidance services, preparing portable containers for distributing Zamzam bottles, and ensuring the cleanliness of prayer areas and other facilities.
Moreover, the staff responsible for service tasks open and guard the mosque’s doors, organize the movement of crowds as part of the initiative for clearing paths, maintain the security and safety of the mosque and its facilities, oversee parking areas, and allocate medical emergency sites and provide them with the necessary equipment.
For the 15th year in a row, the Youth of Makkah at Your Service program has maintained its role in serving pilgrims with the participation of 500 young men, who are undertaking activities during the season in partnership with several government bodies.
The acting director general of the Project for the Glorification of the Sacred City, Saud Al-Rehaili, said its activities aim to guide those who get lost inside the Grand Mosque and help older persons and those with special needs perform the Tawaf and Sai.
More than 7,000 teams to serve pilgrims during Hajj 2019
More than 7,000 teams to serve pilgrims during Hajj 2019
- 200,000 Pakistani pilgrims will perform Hajj this year
- Pakistan officials say they are getting full cooperation from Saudi authorities
Spinners shine as Pakistan beat Australia in T20 for first time in 8 years
- Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan share six wickets to restrict Australia to 146-8 in 20 overs
- Skipper Agha scored 39 and Ayub 40 as Pakistan put 168-8 on scoreboard after batting first in Lahore
LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan beat Australia in a Twenty20 for the first time in eight years on Thursday.
The comfortable 22-run win to open the three-match series pitted a full-strength Pakistan against an under-strength Australia just over a week out from the T20 World Cup.
The spin quartet of Saim Ayub, Abrar Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz — all selected for the T20 World Cup — — shared six wickets to restrict Australia to 146-8 in reply to Pakistan’s 168-8.
Ahmed led with 2-10 off four overs and Ayub’s two wickets included Australia stand-in captain Travis Head for a 13-ball 23.
“It was a great game,” captain Salman Ali Agha said. “I felt 170 was enough on this pitch because our spin bowling is outstanding.”
In the absence of five World Cup players, Australia also benched captain Mitchell Marsh and handed debuts to Matt Renshaw, Jack Edwards and Mahli Beardman on a slow Qaddafi Stadium pitch.
Head holed out to long-off off Ayub’s fuller delivery but Australia recovered to 51-2 at the end of the power play with Renshaw and Cameron Green set.
But in the eighth over, Renshaw was run out while attempting a needless single and Cooper Connolly was clean-bowled by Ahmed.
Green top-scored with 36 and Xavier Bartlett, 34 not out, narrowed the margin of defeat by hitting three fours and two sixes.
“It was disappointing, but that’s how batting goes sometimes,” Head said. “We felt like we dragged it back well after the first 10 overs … but the conditions made it difficult.”
Earlier, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa (4-24) put the brakes on Pakistan’s strong start after Ayub (40) and Agha (39) shared a 74-run second-wicket stand off 43 balls.
Agha smashed four sixes and a boundary while left-handed Ayub’s 22-ball knock featured his trademark no-look boundaries over fine leg against pace. Zampa removed both set batters in his first two overs.
Babar Azam, who made a scratchy 20 off 24 balls in his 100th T20, struggled to keep the momentum going. Zampa pinned him in his return spell when Babar went for a reverse sweep.
Zampa missed a difficult return catch which could have dismissed Usman Khan on the next ball but ended up with brilliant figures when Khan holed out to long-on.
Lahore will also host the final two games on Saturday and Sunday.
