ISLAMABAD: Pakistani telecom operator, Zong, has announced a special call offer for Saudi Arabia and reduced tariffs ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, the company said on Friday.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able.
Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims this year, of which around 70,000 people will perform the pilgrimage under the government scheme, while the rest will use private tour operators.
Zong said Pakistani customers may subscribe to its special IDD Saudi Arabia offer at just Rs2+tax per day and enjoy pulse-based calling at Rs0.70/second.
“The offer will assist Pakistanis to stay in touch with their loved ones performing Hajj during 2024 or residing in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia),” the telecom operator said in a statement.
“Continuing to address the needs of our customers, we will continue to expand our International Dialing portfolio for our clients by offering more innovative products and services.”
This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14 till June 19. Pakistan’s pre-Hajj flight operation, which began on May 9, will continue until June 9.
Zong said its international dialing services have allowed Pakistanis to stay in touch with friends and families living abroad. “These bundles have been a major help to Pakistani in cross-border communication, especially during Eid-Ul-Adha 2024,” it added.
Eid Al-Adha, which begins on the 10th of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, is one of the two biggest festivals of the Islamic calendar. Muslims around the globe mark the three-day festival by slaughtering animals such as sheep, goats and cows, and sharing their meat among family, friends and the poor.
Pakistani telecom operator reduces call tariffs for Saudi Arabia ahead of Hajj pilgrimage
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Pakistani telecom operator reduces call tariffs for Saudi Arabia ahead of Hajj pilgrimage
- Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey at least once in their lifetime
- Pakistan has Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims this year, of which around 70,000 people will perform pilgrimage under government scheme
Opposition protests over Imran Khan’s eye treatment as government offers specialist care
- Opposition alliance says protest in front of parliament to continue until Khan is admitted to Shifa Hospital
- Government says the ex-premier’s medical report will be compiled again amid judicial oversight of the case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition alliance staged a sit-in outside Parliament House on Friday demanding that jailed former prime minister Imran Khan be shifted to a private hospital for treatment of his worsening eye condition, as the government promised the best possible treatment and said the case was under judicial oversight.
Police locked the gates of parliament and cordoned off surrounding roads, preventing protesters from gathering in front of the building, witnesses and opposition leaders said. Security was also tightened around Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) House, where officials and lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were stopped from approaching parliament.
The province is governed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party which is in the opposition at the center.
“We have staged a sit-in for the earliest medical check-up of Imran Khan, which would take just ten minutes,” Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and head of the opposition Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan alliance, told reporters at Parliament House.
“If it is conducted, we will end our protest,” he added.
In a post on X, the alliance said its leadership would continue the sit-in “until Imran Khan is admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital.”
A group of protesters, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, also camped outside the KP House in the federal capital after an initial scuffle with police.
During the clash KP government spokesperson Shafi Jan was arrested but later released as more protesters gathered outside the facility.
Jan warned that if PTI activists were prevented from joining the main protest, they “will give a call for a countrywide strike.”
“We want to proceed toward Parliament to join the protest,” he added. “We want the Supreme Court’s verdict to be implemented that Imran Khan be shifted to Shifa Hospital, treated there and then brought back.”
The protest follows a rare prison visit earlier this month by Barrister Salman Safdar, appointed as amicus curiae by the Supreme Court to assess Khan’s health and living conditions at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. Safdar submitted a detailed report that was made public on Thursday.
The report said that in view of the seriousness of Khan’s ocular condition, “it is imperative that the seriousness of the condition be independently ascertained without delay.”
Safdar also recommended that the court consider involving Khan’s personal physicians or other specialists of his choice, warning that “any further delay poses a serious risk to the Petitioner’s well-being.”
According to a Feb. 6 medical report from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) cited in Safdar’s filing, Khan was diagnosed with “right central retinal vein occlusion” after reporting reduced vision in his right eye. He underwent an intravitreal injection at PIMS and was discharged with follow-up advice.
In his interaction with Safdar, Khan said he had suffered “rapid and substantial loss of vision over the preceding three months” and claimed his complaints had not been addressed promptly in custody. He further said he had been left with “only 15 percent vision in his right eye.”
Safdar’s report noted that the 73-year-old former premier appeared “visibly perturbed and deeply distressed” over the loss of vision, though it also recorded that he expressed satisfaction with his safety, basic amenities and food provisions in prison.
Responding to the controversy, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry rejected PTI’s claims that Khan had been suffering from an eye issue since October last year.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, he said Khan was visited by his sister on Dec. 2 but she did not mention the medical issue.
“Medical report will be compiled again, the chief justice of the Supreme Court is himself monitoring this case,” he said. “Wherever it will be requested, Imran Khan’s eye will be examined at.”
Chaudhry vowed there would be no negligence.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar earlier rejected claims of mistreatment, saying the “narrative being propagated to international media” by Khan’s family had “fallen flat on its face,” and that prison records showed he enjoyed facilities “more than any other prisoner.”
Khan has been in custody since August 2023 in connection with multiple cases that he and his party describe as politically motivated. The government denies the allegation.
Concerns over his health resurfaced after authorities confirmed he had briefly been taken from prison to a hospital in Islamabad for an eye procedure. While the government said his condition was stable, Khan’s family and PTI leaders alleged they were not informed in advance and that he was being denied timely and independent medical access.
