K-P Directorate of Hajj in the dark over missing pilgrims

Six from province and FATA confirmed dead in Mina stampede, 14 missing

PESHAWAR/ BANNU:

So far the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Hajj remains unaware over the condition of those who went missing after the stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia during Hajj. People from K-P and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas looking for their loved ones are left with little to go on.  At least five pilgrims from the province and one from Fata have been confirmed as dead; at the moment 14 people are still missing.

Officials in the directorate told The Express Tribune relatives of pilgrims were repeatedly calling the directorate and enquiring about their loved ones. However, it was unable to share any information due to the lack of it coming forth from the federal directorate.



The FATA Secretariat does not have a special section to deal with Hajj or pilgrims. When contacted, officials there said since they function out of remote areas, communication was an issue to begin with. They suggest getting in touch with officials in Islamabad to find out about those who are still untraceable and hail from the tribal belt.

On tenterhooks

One of the K-P Directorate of Hajj officials, requesting anonymity, said matters were being dealt with by Pakistani officials present in Makkah. He suggested relatives call the hotline provided by the federal government to find out the status of their loves ones.

“We don’t have any contact with them. Our updates come from television or newspapers as the federal directorate does not share information with us,” said the official, requested anonymity.

When contacted, K-P Directorate of Hajj Deputy Director Fazl-e-Subhan confirmed no information was shared with the provincial body. He said the director general of the federal Hajj directorate was in Makkah, along with other officials, after the establishment of a control room to collect information on pilgrims. “We already have set up a hotline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and everyone can contact the relevant officials,” the deputy director told The Express Tribune.

Back home

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) first return Hajj flight, PK-6314, carrying 325 pilgrims from Jeddah, arrived at Bacha Khan International Airport (BKIA) in Peshawar after a five-hour delay.

The flight was scheduled to arrive at 7:25am, however, it was delayed by over five hours and arrived at 12:50pm. A PIA official at the regional office said passengers were unable to board the plane on time despite having collected their boarding passes.

“Pilgrims reached Jeddah airport and received boarding passes without a delay, but since the majority were over 55 years of age, they didn’t board the plane on time for several reasons,” the official said. He added pilgrims sometimes had to be called to board the flight through announcements.

BKIA was overcrowded as people rushed to pick up pilgrims. This caused tremendous difficulty for commuters on Old Bara Road.

Last year, the district administration would pick up pilgrims and drop them at the Qayyum Sports Complex. However, certain security concerns meant the same plan could not materialise on this occasion.

ANP leader, wife dead

It was confirmed that former ANP PK-71 president and his wife, residents of Domail in Bannu, died as a result of the stampede.

The relatives of the deceased couple said Malik Nasir Khan and his wife Nosheen Bukhari, an employee of the FATA Secretariat, had left
for Hajj. The family added they tried to contact the couple after hearing about the Mina incident on September 24, but were unable to get in touch.

Later, the Saudi administration confirmed Nasir Khan was among the dead, while his wife was missing. Kin living in Saudi Arabia told relatives in Bannu that Nosheen Bukhari also died in the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2015.