Hajj scam: Envoy in Saudi Arabia pleads ‘not guilty’

Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia holds DG Hajj and ministry of religious affairs responsible.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia has pleaded ‘not guilty’ in response to an inquiry initiated jointly by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the ministry of foreign affairs into a scam worth billions of rupees, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The FIA chief had sent a letter to ambassador Umer Khan Alisherzai last month after reports emerged implicating him in the scam.

FIA asked questions regarding the envoy’s role in arranging accommodations, transport and other facilities for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. It is alleged that the ambassador made money via various ‘front men’.

There were reports that his “front men” arranged substitute lodging facilities for Pakistani pilgrims when accommodations arranged by the ministry of religious affairs proved to be of substandard quality. The ministry of foreign affairs had also sent a letter to Alisherzai to inquire about his role in the whole affair.

The ministry initiated correspondence with the ambassador in August this year when the ministry of Hajj lodged a complaint against Sherezai for his alleged interference in making the Hajj arrangements.

It is alleged that a letter purportedly sent by a member of the Saudi royal family to the Supreme Court chief justice against the Hajj minister was mailed on the ambassador’s instigation.

The Hajj minister who described the ambassador as his ‘enemy’ when the issue was taken up by the Supreme Court and also sent letters to the FIA against the ambassador, holding him responsible for many problems that he and his ministry faced during the Hajj season.

Both FIA and the foreign ministry are conducting separate inquiries on the suspected role of the ambassador in the whole exercise.

Federal Minister for Hajj and Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, federal secretary of his ministry Agha Sarwar Qazalbash and Director-General Hajj Rao Shakeel are the other accused.

In a letter sent to the director-general of FIA by the ambassador on November 27 this year, the ambassador denied having any role in making arrangements for Hajj pilgrims, adding that Pakistan’s consul-general in Jeddah was also not involved in the affair.

He said that the responsibility for the crisis lay squarely on the director-general of Hajj and the ministry of religious affairs, adding that both of them refused to accept his recommendations for Hajj arrangements.

According to another letter sent by the ambassador to the secretary of foreign affairs, the crisis was caused because his recommendations were not accepted.

Going by the correspondence between the foreign secretary and the ministry of Hajj, the tug-of-war began in July-August this year.

“I had recommended holding of an inter-ministerial meeting involving the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of religious affairs to thrash out modalities for hiring of buildings and to develop a criterion for hiring of buildings. I had also volunteered myself to participate in the meeting to provide important input based on my experience in Saudi Arabia, specifically the experience of Hajj 2009. My recommendations were not only ignored but were given a different colour by making it a turf issue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry Religious Affairs,” said Sherzai in his reply to the Secretary Foreign Affairs, adding: “Had my recommendations (been) taken in (their) true spirit, these problems could have been easily avoided which are now a cause of embarrassment for the government.”

“The onus of responsibility regarding embezzlement and gross mismanagement clearly lies with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and DG (Hajj),” Sherzai claimed in his letter, adding: “Me and my consul-general in Jeddah have nothing to do with the whole issue.”

However, the ministry of foreign affairs is said to be dissatisfied with the ambassador’s reply.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2010.