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MAKKAH: All Pakistani pilgrims have been vaccinated against swine flu before departing for Saudi Arabia, the Pakistani state minister for religious affairs said on Tuesday. “We have thoroughly applied all health conditions requested by Saudi Arabia and the World Health Organization regarding the health safety of pilgrims,” Dr. Shagufta Jumani told Arab News in a statement. She conveyed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s deep gratitude and appreciation to the government of Saudi Arabia for the consummate services provided to 164,447 Pakistani pilgrims in Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites since their arrival in the Kingdom. “We are also grateful to the Kingdom for the provision of health requirements for our pilgrims and the keenness of Saudi health officials to make certain that our pilgrims have been vaccinated against epidemics including swine flu before their arrival,” she said. The minister denied that some of the Pakistani pilgrims would illegally overstay in the Kingdom after performing Haj but admitted this could happen during the Umrah season. “No Pakistani pilgrim would remain in the Kingdom after Haj but few people might remain during the Umrah season,” she said. She said the Tawafa Establishment for South Asian Pilgrims would immediately inform them of any overstaying case so that the Pakistani government could issue a passport and air tickets. She however pointed out that pilgrims who overstay in the Kingdom would not be punished. Jumani also thanked the Kingdom for increasing Pakistan’s quota of pilgrims by 5,000 and hoped that this increase would be maintained during the coming years. She praised the mega development projects being implemented by the Saudi government in key Haj locations including the Jamrat bridge and the monorail. She described relations between the two countries as historic and said Pakistan and the Kingdom have always maintained very close ties. The minister reiterated Pakistan’s support for the Kingdom in its confrontation with the rebels on Yemeni border, who she described as “feeble in mentality and identity.” “Pakistan is ready and prepared to back any measures to be taken by the Kingdom against them,” she said, condemning the aggression of the rebels in the south of the country. |
