ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs has initiated post-Hajj operations in the holy city of Madinah, Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday, prioritizing that every Pakistani pilgrim got the opportunity to visit revered sites within the Prophet’s Mosque.
At least 160,000 Pakistanis attended this year’s annual Hajj pilgrimage, which ran from June 14-19.
“Seventeen thousand Pakistani pilgrims visited Riaz ul Jannah in the post-Hajj period,” Radio Pakistan reported on the post-Hajj operations.
“To facilitate these visits, special permits have been arranged by the ministry in coordination with the Saudi government. This has enabled thousands of Pakistani male and female pilgrims to visit Riaz Al-Jannah daily.”
The term means ‘garden of paradise’ in Arabic and refers to a small area between the pulpit (minbar) and the grave of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Director Hajj for Madinah, Zia Ur Rehman, said ensuring that every Pakistani pilgrim could visit Riaz Al-Jannah was the ministry’s “top priority” during the post-Hajj period.
“The successful organization of these visits reflects the ministry’s commitment to serving the spiritual needs of Pakistani pilgrims,” Rehman said.
Pakistan ministry of religious affairs launches post-Hajj operations in Madinah
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Pakistan ministry of religious affairs launches post-Hajj operations in Madinah
- Says priority that every Pakistani pilgrim gets opportunity to visit revered sites within Prophet’s Mosque
- At least 160,000 Pakistanis attended this year’s annual Hajj pilgrimage, which ran from June 14-19
Pakistan defense minister warns of ‘more legal action’ against ex-spy chief
- Faiz Hameed, ISI’s director-general from 2019-2021, was sentenced to 14 years by military court this week
- Defense Minister Khawaja Asif alleges Hameed planned violent priotests led by ex-PM Khan’s party in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday announced “more legal action” will be taken against former spy chief Faiz Hameed, days after he was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court.
Pakistan military’s media wing announced this week that Hameed, who was the director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 2019 to 2021, has been sentenced to 14 years after being found guilty of misusing authority and government resources, violating the Official Secrets Act and causing “wrongful loss to persons.”
The former spy chief was widely seen as close to ex-prime minister Imran Khan. Hameed, who retired from the army in December 2022, is accused by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of bringing down the government of his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, in 2017.
The PML-N alleges Hameed worked with then opposition leader Khan to plot Nawaz’s ouster through a series of court cases, culminating in the Supreme Court disqualifying of him from office in 2017 for failing to disclose income and ordering a criminal investigation into his family over corruption allegations. Khan’s party and Hameed have both denied the allegations.
“A senior officer and former head of the ISI has been convicted in a trial that lasted for a long period of 15 months,” Asif told reporters in Sialkot.
“There are more problems, charges on which legal action will be taken and that won’t take long.”
Asif repeated the PML-N’s allegations, accusing Hameed of having Nawaz disqualified through the court cases. He accused the former spy chief of propelling Khan to the office of the prime minister, blaming him for having leaders and supporters of the PML-N arrested during Khan’s premiership.
Pakistan military said this week that Faiz’s alleged role in “fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cahoots with political elements” was being handled separately. Many interpreted this as the military alluding to the May 9, 2023, nationwide unrest, when angry Khan supporters took to the streets and attacked military and government installations after he was briefly detained on corruption charges.
Asif said Faiz’s “brain and planning” was behind the May 2023 unrest.
“These two personalities can not be separated,” the defense minister said, referencing Khan and Hameed.
Senior military officers are rarely investigated or convicted in Pakistan, where the security establishment plays an outsized role in politics and national governance.
Hameed’s sentencing comes just days after Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir was appointed as Pakistan’s first chief of defense forces, marking a major restructuring of the military command.
Former prime minister Khan’s PTI party has distanced itself from Hameed’s conviction, referring to it as an “internal matter of the military institution.”
