KARACHI: The Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) this week described Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system as “highly stable” and “foolproof,” crediting the Kingdom for operating it transparently for a long time.
Local news outlets this month published reports stating Pakistani pilgrims could face delays in their Hajj journey as millions of Saudi Riyals meant for their expenses were mistakenly sent to an account linked to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). An official at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Tuesday rejected the reports, reiterating the Kingdom’s electronic Hajj system operated with the “highest standards of transparency.”
HOAP clarified that local media reports had misreported the briefing its representatives had given to the Senate and National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Apr. 23. HOAP said its representatives had referred to the Office of the Pilgrims Affairs Pakistan (OPAP) account, not OPEC. It further said Hajj organizers have been transferring their funds to OPAP’s account since last year.
“The Hajj Organizers Association of Pakistan would like to clarify that the digital system of Saudi Arabia is highly stable and foolproof, leaving no room for any kind of ambiguity,” the association said on Wednesday. “The Hajj system of Saudi Arabia has been operating transparently and securely for a long time, and we continue to benefit from it.”
The association clarified it has never been a part of any “political campaign,” alleging that local media’s misreporting is the “outcome of a conspiracy, which is equivalent to harming the long-standing relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.”
“We have religious harmony and heartfelt affiliation with Saudi Arabia. We and our Government of Pakistan have longstanding relations with Saudi Arabia, of which we are proud,” it added.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and 23,620 Pakistanis through private tour operators. The total quota granted to Pakistan was 179,210, which could not be met.
Pakistan kicked off its Hajj flight operations on Tuesday morning with the first batch of 442 pilgrims departing from Islamabad for Madinah.
Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system ‘highly stable, foolproof’ — Pakistan Hajj organizers’ association
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Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system ‘highly stable, foolproof’ — Pakistan Hajj organizers’ association
- Association says Hajj organizers have been transferring funds to Office of Pilgrims Affairs Pakistan account since 2024
- Saudi Arabia’s digital Hajj system has been operating transparently and securely for a long time, says association
Rating firm S&P says it won’t rush Iran war downgrades, sees risks for countries like Pakistan
- Agency says it is monitoring indebted energy importers as higher oil prices strain finances
- Gulf economies seen better placed to weather shock, though Bahrain flagged as vulnerable
LONDON: S&P Global said it would not make any knee-jerk sovereign rating cuts following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, but warned on Thursday that soaring oil and gas prices were putting a number of already cash-strapped countries at risk.
The firm’s top analysts said in a webinar that the conflict, which has involved US and Israeli strikes against Iran and Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, was now moving from a low- to moderate-risk scenario.
Most Gulf countries had enough fiscal buffers, however, to weather the crisis for a while, with more lowly rated Bahrain the only clear exception.
Qatar’s banking sector could also struggle if there were significant deposit outflows in reaction to the conflict, although there was no evidence of such strains at the moment, they said.
“We don’t want to jump the gun and just say things are bad,” S&P’s head global sovereign analyst, Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, said.
The longer the crisis was prolonged, though, “the more difficult it is going to be,” he added.
Sifon-Arevalo said Asia was the second-most exposed region, due to many of its countries being significant Gulf oil and gas importers.
India, Thailand and Indonesia have relatively lower reserves of oil, while the region also had already heavily indebted countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka whose finances would be further hurt by rising energy prices.
“We are closely monitoring these (countries) to see how the credit stories evolve,” Sifon-Arevalo said.
