Hajj Odyssey Part 1: Pakistani and Saudi models of governance resemble starkly

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Attending one of the biggest religious extravaganzas on earth – Hajj or pilgrimage – not only tests your physical and mental faculties to the extreme, but also tell you a lot about the hosts, Saudis and the Pakistani organisers, as both seem less interested in facilitating pilgrims and more in making the religious rituals as adventurously difficult as possible just to prove the point that “Hajj is another name for difficulty, the more difficult it is, the more pious you will emerge at the end”.

There were around over six million pilgrims, officially 3.5 million, but then lots of late comers from various governments, neighbouring countries and locals make it to the Hajj arena spread over an estimated 20 kilometre radius in the final five days of the religious gathering.

Pakistan was originally allowed to bring in 125,000 pilgrims, but repeated requests and pressure from all those who had to go for a third, fourth or even tenth Hajj made our Religious Ministry to seek special permission from the Saudis to allow over 160,000. Out of this, about 75,000 embarked on the pious journey under the government’s scheme by paying about Rs 250,000 each, while the rest were captured by private operators at a cost ranging from Rs 350,000 to Rs 500,000.

News stories of rampant corruption in the Pakistani Hajj programme, summoning of the Hajj director from Makkah to Islamabad, removal of certain officials of the Hajj Directorate, arrest of the former Hajj director Rao Shakeel in Pakistan, allocation of Hajj permits by our incumbent religious minister to various seminaries and alleged selling of the same by him or his cohorts to private tour operators, including two owned by his kiths and kins, was all pouring in to Makkah and Madina while we ere performing the Hajj rituals.

While listening to these developments and seeing Religious Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi escape the wrath of the pilgrims in Makkah where he was left on his own by the Hajj Directorate to deal with the complaints of the enraged pilgrims, we – a sponsored group of journalists – had the honour of witnessing, rather suffering, with such accumulated religious pity and humility, many gaping holes in the Saudis’ management that it was hard to differentiate whether Hajj was being organised under a Pakistani model of governance or almost 150-year-old-dynastic Saudi model. To top it all, the Saudi media made it all look hilariously ironic as none of it was pointing out those gaps but rather praising the ailing custodian of the two holy mosques, His Excellency King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz and Second Prime Minister Naif Bin Abdul Aziz throughout and after Hajj.

However, it certainly was heartening to find out that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj has at least posted this message on the opening page of its website: “This holy country has the honour and privilege of providing integrated services to the pilgrims of Allah’s Inviolable House, for those performing Hajj or Umrah and for all visitors of the mosque of the noble prophet (PBUH). Such services begin from the moment pilgrims set foot in the territory of the kingdom until their return to their respective countries. Caring for the needs of the pilgrims occupies the first priority among the kingdom’s concerns.

As is declared in the kingdom’s Governance Statutes, issued in 1414 H, ‘The state shall assume the responsibility of serving the two holy mosques, take full care of pilgrims, and reconstruct the two holy mosques and provide services thereto.’ It shall provide security and care for visitors thereof to enable them to perform Hajj, Umrah, and visit the prophet’s mosque in peace and tranquility.”

Whether Saudi officials guarding the two mosques or routes to these holy places know what it means to provide care and a peaceful and tranquil environment is not sure because of the policemen and even their senior officers, known for nothing but yelling and shepherding the pilgrims with such disdain that politeness seems to have never passed by them. This happens not only inside the holy mosques but also on the roads. Just to quote an example of how they treat pilgrims, during a conversation with a senior official outside the holy mosque of Makkah, where I had to find out about my wife who had been missing for over five hours on the first day of our landing there. First with the Red Cross team:

Q: My wife is missing, have you received any emergency calls from inside the mosque or a female patient – she had respiratory problems that worried me?

Red Cross official(in Arabic): No English, Arabic.

I had to give up after some attempts because none of the 10 people standing inside the doors of the holy mosque could understand a simple question. As I ventured out in the courtyard, I spotted a group of ladies lying in the open, and just to check if my wife was there or not, I decided to approach them, but in my way were standing about six policemen with their officers. As I tried to pass by them, they stopped me by poking their elbow and, when I tried to ask for way, they yelled at me in Arabic, of which I could not make any sense, but understood that they didn’t want me to pass by them.

Finding a senior police officer, I approached him and asked him in English the same question I had asked the Red Cross people, but he responded saying, “I don’t speak English.” When I said you are speaking English right now, he said, “Do you speak Arabic?” I said no, after which he refused to speak in English and started yelling in Arabic, while others started pushing me and staring at me like I was a criminal trying to cross the border.



Note: More to follow on the Saudi model of governance and stories of the Pakistani camp, including different types of sponsorships under which journalists like me, federal and provincial ministers, MPs from all provincial and federal assemblies and the Senate, members of judiciary, Religious Ministry officials, their ‘Khadimul Hajjaj’ (servants for pilgrims) and their families, were feasting.