“Pilgrim security is a red line that cannot be crossed,” the general said, adding that nobody should dare obstruct pilgrims from performing their religious rites peacefully and comfortably.
Speaking to Arab News after attending a training course for emergency security forces in Jeddah, Al-Qahtani described the Haj as the largest human gathering in the world. “People of different nationalities, color and race come to the Kingdom for Haj and they receive a wholehearted welcome,” he said.
Al-Qahtani said pilgrims should not create any problem or cause harm to their fellow pilgrims. “They have come here to gain the happiness of God and it’s our duty to facilitate their movements and efforts to perform their rituals easily and comfortably,” he said.
“We have full confidence in all pilgrims and believe that they come to perform the fifth pillar of Islam and not for any other purpose. We’ll not allow them to engage in any other activity during Haj,” he said, referring to those who try to undermine Haj security.
He agreed that some people would sneak into the holy sites without Haj permits. “We cannot ignore this fact and there are geographical, material and other reasons for that, but we’ll try our best to reduce their number as far as possible,” he added.
“There is no change in Haj rituals, what is changing is the plans and methods we follow in dealing with pilgrims and improve Haj services,” the security chief said, adding that this year’s Haj would witness a number of changes in security matters.
The training program saw a mock operation to clean up an area where terrorists had kept weapons and sheltered wanted criminals. Helicopters and special assault forces took part in the operation.
Brig. Khaled Al-Muhammadi, commander of emergency forces, said such training programs are conducted annually in different parts of the country to enhance the preparedness of Saudi forces in confronting terrorism and unrest as well as disturbances during Haj.
