US move threatens world peace: Yousaf
Religious affairs minister says pilgrims’ biometric verification issue taken up with Saudi Arabia
PHOTO: PID
ISLAMABAD:
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammad Yousaf has accused the United States of putting the world peace at stake by recognising occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“This is a recipe for disaster. It has hurt the feelings of the whole Muslim Ummah and the rest of the world,” he said while addressing the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries on Thursday.
Yousaf said President Donald Trump’s move was tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds of the Muslims. “The US has become a party to the decades-old dispute. Even the Western countries have condemned the decision,” the minister added. He said it was another tactic of Trump to create issues for the Muslims by adding fuel to fire.
Talking about his ministry, Yousaf claimed it was in a shambles when he took over. “The ministry was rocked by corruption scandals,” he said, claiming that he had put an end to corrupt practices.
He said that previously even the number of Hajj applications under the government scheme remained short of the target. But since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took over, the number had increased three-fold. He announced that the government would maintain the last Hajj package for the next season.
Religious intolerance tarnishes Pakistan’s image: minister
He said he had requested the prime minister to ask Saudi Arabia to increase Pakistan’s Hajj quota in accordance with the increase in the population shown by the latest census. “Last year Pakistan’s Hajj quota was 189,210 and if agreed by Saudi Arabia, another 27,000 people will get the opportunity to perform Hajj,” said Yousaf.
The minister agreed that the facility to obtain fingerprints should be available at the district level to avoid long queues during the Hajj operation. “Saudi Embassy has been asked to ensure biometric verification centres at the district level to facilitate the Umra aspirants,” he said.
He said if verification was done at designated centres, there would be no need for the time-consuming biometric verification at airports. However, the minister added that like India, Bangladesh and other countries, Pakistan should also be exempted from the biometric verification.
ICCI President Sheikh Amir Waheed said the condition of biometric verification for Pakistani Umra aspirants by Saudi Embassy had created problems and the ministry should help solve them. He said the ministry should consider giving a special Hajj package to the ICCI members.
He also said the chamber was ready to provide its premises for training and vaccination of Hajj pilgrims.
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammad Yousaf has accused the United States of putting the world peace at stake by recognising occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“This is a recipe for disaster. It has hurt the feelings of the whole Muslim Ummah and the rest of the world,” he said while addressing the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries on Thursday.
Yousaf said President Donald Trump’s move was tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds of the Muslims. “The US has become a party to the decades-old dispute. Even the Western countries have condemned the decision,” the minister added. He said it was another tactic of Trump to create issues for the Muslims by adding fuel to fire.
Talking about his ministry, Yousaf claimed it was in a shambles when he took over. “The ministry was rocked by corruption scandals,” he said, claiming that he had put an end to corrupt practices.
He said that previously even the number of Hajj applications under the government scheme remained short of the target. But since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government took over, the number had increased three-fold. He announced that the government would maintain the last Hajj package for the next season.
Religious intolerance tarnishes Pakistan’s image: minister
He said he had requested the prime minister to ask Saudi Arabia to increase Pakistan’s Hajj quota in accordance with the increase in the population shown by the latest census. “Last year Pakistan’s Hajj quota was 189,210 and if agreed by Saudi Arabia, another 27,000 people will get the opportunity to perform Hajj,” said Yousaf.
The minister agreed that the facility to obtain fingerprints should be available at the district level to avoid long queues during the Hajj operation. “Saudi Embassy has been asked to ensure biometric verification centres at the district level to facilitate the Umra aspirants,” he said.
He said if verification was done at designated centres, there would be no need for the time-consuming biometric verification at airports. However, the minister added that like India, Bangladesh and other countries, Pakistan should also be exempted from the biometric verification.
ICCI President Sheikh Amir Waheed said the condition of biometric verification for Pakistani Umra aspirants by Saudi Embassy had created problems and the ministry should help solve them. He said the ministry should consider giving a special Hajj package to the ICCI members.
He also said the chamber was ready to provide its premises for training and vaccination of Hajj pilgrims.