45 Pakistani pilgrims still missing as death toll hits 89

Govt representatives dodge queries from families of victims, media

ISLAMABAD: Fifteen days into the Mina incident, the relatives of 45 missing Pakistani pilgrims are still clueless about the whereabouts of their family members.

Adding to the miseries of the relatives of the Mina stampede victims, there is no official from the religious affairs ministry to console the families or provide them with the exact on-ground situation.

Pir Aminul Hasnat Shah, State Minister for Religious Affairs, continues to avoid the media to share the latest toll. Similarly, the PM’s focal person on Mina incident Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry is also not available, most of the time, to give updates regarding the incident.



The only source of information for the media and the relatives of the missing Pakistani pilgrims is the website of the religious affairs ministry which publishes lists of missing, dead and found Pakistani pilgrims.  According to the latest updates shared on the website the death toll has reached 89.

So far 309 Pakistani pilgrims who went missing after the incident have been found whereas the whereabouts of 45 are still unknown.

Talking to The Express Tribune Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party Senator Usman Kakar said the Pakistani government is making all-out efforts to defend the Saudi authorities.

A family in Quetta said that they have received the report of the demise of their relative, potentially raising the death toll to 89. “My father, Ghulam Mohyuddin, went missing after the stampede, but today our relatives found his body,” Imdadud Din said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2015.