Hajj stampede: Five days on, Pakistani doctor still missing

Family lambasts Saudi and Pakistani governments for not disclosing information

KARACHI: Every night since the deadly Hajj stampede, a relative from Saudi Arabia calls Naila and informs that her husband, Dr Shahzeb Raza, has not been found among the pile of bodies or among the injured at the hospital. She comforts herself by saying a prayer of thanks but her agony continues. Is he still alive?

Five days have gone by and she and their three children still don't have an answer.

Raza is one of the many Pakistanis who have gone missing since the Hajj stampede on Thursday. Originally from Karachi, he was a general practitioner at a clinic in Jeddah and had been living there for the past three years.



"I am trying to be strong and not crying. Otherwise, how will I face this?" she says, holding back her tears. At their home in North Nazimabad, she and her children sit with grave faces, waiting for news of his whereabouts.

Raza had gone to perform Hajj with three other Pakistani doctors. From what his family has come to know, during the religious obligation of Rami at Mina, he was pushed further into the crowd when he tried to save someone else.

The stampede resulted in the death of one doctor, while another apart from Raza is still missing. The fourth person from their group fortunately survived as he left early.

The family, when they came to know about the stampede, tried to locate Raza. They called the religious affairs minister, Sardar Yusuf, who assured them they will be provided information very soon.

Five days of waiting and there is still no word of him. "We don't know what's happening outside in the world. We are just waiting here.  We didn't know when Eid came and went. It was the same for us," said Naila.

The family blames the governments of both the countries for the tragic incident — the Saudi government for their mismanagement and the Pakistani government for their slow and indifferent response.

"Every year, so many pilgrims are coming in. Why doesn't the Saudi government provide facilities? Why didn't their guards control the crowd? Why didn't they stop the stampede?"

Naila, who is herself a doctor, believes that the death toll is high and the Saudi government is covering up. "We have been told that there are eight containers with bodies, which have yet to be opened. No one is disclosing any details."

The last time she spoke to her husband was on Wednesday night when Raza said he was very happy for almost completing Hajj. For him, it was a dream come true. "He had been saving money for Hajj and didn't care much about staying in Saudi after that was done. Next time, he wanted to take me and our children for Hajj."

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