JEDDAH: Relatives of five Pakistani Umrah pilgrims languishing in a Jeddah jail on charges of smuggling heroin into the Kingdom have appealed to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for leniency.
According to the relatives, the Saudi authorities have demanded that the Pakistani government hand over the masterminds of the smuggling plot in exchange for their release.
The five — identified as Muhammad Anis Memon, his wife Rabia, Anis’s 63-year-old mother Zuhra Mosani, and newlyweds Muhammad Arif Chohan and Shumaila — have pleaded innocence. They claim that their tour agent handed them slippers filled with heroin to wear on their journey to the Kingdom on June 1 to perform Umrah. Upon hosting the pilgrims at his house, the agent gave them ihrams and the heroin-filled slippers.
The relatives say that the agent insisted that the pilgrims wear the slippers so his men would be able to identify them at the Jeddah airport.
“They were following the tour agent’s instructions,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a relative of Anis Memon, speaking from his residence in Karachi.
Pakistani police arrested the tour agent and his wife in Karachi shortly after Saudi security personnel at King Abdulaziz International Airport seized the narcotics.
The tour agent and his wife have confessed to trying to smuggle heroin into the Kingdom and told both Pakistani authorities and the media that the five pilgrims had no knowledge of the heroin.
The Pakistani government then conveyed this to the Saudi authorities. “The Saudi authorities demanded that the Pakistani government hand over the agent and his wife in exchange for the five pilgrims,” said Ashraf.
“According to Pakistani law this is presently not possible. Their case is currently being heard in a Pakistani court. It will take approximately two months to complete. We are calling on the king to make an exception and drop their current request,” said Ashraf.
He added that officials at the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad have informed them that preliminary investigations found the five innocent.
The Saudi authorities told Arab News that investigations are ongoing. Spokesman for the General Department of Narcotic Control in Jeddah Maj. Ibrahim Abu Hulael said his department could not comment on the matter until investigations were complete. The group members have been detained for more than two months now.
Anis, Ashraf’s brother-in-law, and Rabia have two little children who are currently staying with their maternal grandmother.
“Ramadan is approaching. It is going to be very hard for the kids,” said Ashraf. He added that his mother-in-law is diabetic and is experiencing health problems. “The two other detainees just married six months ago. It is a sad way to start a new life,” he said.
Appealing to King Abdullah for clemency, the relatives say that in view of the group being declared innocent by authorities in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, they should be released.
The family also called on King Abdullah to show leniency and release them for the sake of Allah as no true Muslim could dare commit such a heinous crime while in ihram. The family added that their release would bring them joy in the blessed month of Ramadan.
Umar Khan Alisherzai, Pakistan’s newly appointed ambassador in the Kingdom, has brought the matter to the attention of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. The ambassador also obtained permission for Pakistani Embassy representatives to meet the detainees.
