ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials have expressed their support of Saudi Arabia’s decision to restrict this year’s Hajj pilgrimage over public health concerns as the coronavirus is still raging across the globe.
On Saturday, Saudi health authorities announced the kingdom had restricted the pilgrimage to 60,000 citizens and residents for the second year amid the pandemic.
Only people aged between 18 and 65 who have been vaccinated against the virus, and are free of chronic diseases, will be able to take part in the Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
“An appropriate and correct decision has been made, the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia have always served the pilgrims. Shariah also allows to make such decisions in an emergency situation,” Tahir Ashrafi, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special adviser on religious harmony and the Middle East, told Arab News on Sunday.
He added the kingdom’s decision to hold this year’s Hajj amid strict COVID-19 health protocols was to “ensure the safety of pilgrims.”
On Saturday, following Saudi Arabia’s announcement, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a phone conversation with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud.
“The Saudi Foreign Minister apprised Foreign Minister Qureshi about the challenges of organizing Hajj in 2021 and the policy measures taken by the kingdom in the larger interest of public health,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“Minister Qureshi conveyed his understanding of the situation and expressed confidence in the decisions taken in public interest by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.”
Before the pandemic enforced social distancing globally, some 2.5 million pilgrims used to visit the holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Medina for the week-long Hajj and the lesser, year-round Umrah pilgrimage.
Pakistan says supports Saudi Arabia's decision to restrict Hajj over coronavirus concerns
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Pakistan says supports Saudi Arabia's decision to restrict Hajj over coronavirus concerns
- Saudi Arabia has restricted this year's annual pilgrimage to 60,000 citizens and residents in the kingdom
- Pakistani officials say Saudi's decision taken "in public interest" and to ensure safety of pilgrims
Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives
- At least 9 dead, 27 wounded in shooting incident at secondary school, residence in British Columbia on Tuesday
- Officials say the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the incident
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Canada as a high school shooting incident in a British Columbia town left at least nine dead, more than 20 others injured.
Six people were found at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while a seventh died on the way to the hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday. Two other people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting at the school. A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack.
In an initial emergency alert, police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” with officials saying she was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Saddened by the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the attack.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Canada in this difficult time,” he added.
Canadian police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the violence, announcing he had suspended plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday.
While mass shootings are rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, described it as one of the “worst mass shootings” in Canada’s history.
