Pakistan forms reform committee to review complaints against private Hajj companies

Muslim pilgrims gather around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on June 30, 2023 during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. (Photo courtesy: AFP/File)
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Updated 11 September 2023
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Pakistan forms reform committee to review complaints against private Hajj companies

  • Pakistan has been assigned quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Hajj 2024
  • Private tour operators given 60 percent quota, government will cater to 40 percent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar presided over a meeting on advance preparations for Hajj 2024 on Monday and ordered the formation of a reform committee to look into complaints against private Hajj companies.

Last week, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry had asked private Hajj operators to provide suggestions to improve operations and implement new Saudi instructions regarding a reduction in the number of pilgrims for each company.

Pakistan has been assigned a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for next year’s Hajj and the country is currently pondering an early start of the Hajj process. Private tour operators have been granted 60 percent of the pilgrim’s quota, while 40 percent will travel under the government scheme.

“Prime Minister’s directs submitting a report on complaints regarding private Hajj companies and to form a reform committee for this system,” the PM’s Office said in a statement. 

“By closely monitoring private companies, it should be ensured that pilgrims passing through them do not face any kind of difficulties ... there should be no compromise on the arrangements made for the pilgrims,” the statement quoted the PM as saying.

Kakar also ordered the religious affairs ministry to submit a comprehensive report on the complaints by pilgrims regarding arrangements for Hajj 2023 and asked it to collaborate with the IT ministry to launch “a mobile application and website for facilities of pilgrims and registration of complaints.”

This year, Saudi Arabia reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65. About 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims performed the pilgrimage under the government scheme while the rest used private tour operators.


Pakistan stock market crosses 120,000-mark amid cautious trading ahead of budget

Updated 6 sec ago
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Pakistan stock market crosses 120,000-mark amid cautious trading ahead of budget

  • KSE-100 index surged 636 points or 0.53 percent to reach at 120,285.54 during intra-day trading
  • The South Asian country is set to unveil its federal budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 on June 2

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued an upward trajectory and surpassed the 120,000-point mark during intraday trading on Monday, stock analysts said.

The KSE-100 index surged by 636 points, or 0.53 percent, to reach at 120,285 points during the intra-day trading at around 10am on Monday.

The market recorded a historic comeback last week following the Pakistan-India ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump which proved to be a relief for investors.

But analysts attributed Monday's slightly "slower" activity to cautious investors ahead of the upcoming budget in June.

"The KSE100 has started the week on a muted note, which is reflecting in slower trading activity," Raza Jafri, head of Intermarket Securities, told Arab News.

"It is possible that investors are waiting for the FY26 Budget, expected in early June, before they become more active."

Pakistan is set to unveil its federal budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 on June 2, being formulated under stringent conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked this month after New Delhi launched missile strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan, blaming Islamabad for a deadly Apr. 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan has denied involvement.

The crisis triggered a 12 percent decline at the Pakistani stock market from Apr. 23 till May 8.

However, the market recovered nearly all of its losses last week, climbing more than 3,500 points.


Fire erupts in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills, containment efforts underway

Updated 5 min 1 sec ago
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Fire erupts in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills, containment efforts underway

  • The blaze erupted near Saidpur Darra, Jungle Number 15 and Rumli areas
  • Over 70 firefighters are participating in the operation to put out the blaze

ISLAMABAD: A wildfire erupted in the Margalla Hills in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Monday, the Islamabad district administration said, with efforts underway to put out the blaze.

The Margalla range, part of the Himalayan foothills, often experiences bushfires in the summer months. Last year, several incidents of forest fire were reported at the hills as various parts of the country remained in the grip of intense heatwaves.

On Monday, a fire broke out near Saidpur Darra, Jungle Number 15 and Rumli areas on the hills, prompting an immediate response from the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) fire brigade and officials of the district administration.

“More than 70 firefighters are participating in the operation to control the fire,” the district administration said in a statement.

“The fire was brought under control once, but it broke out again.”

No casualties or property damage have been reported in the wake of the fire, according to authorities.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

“The fire will be brought under control again soon,” the district administration added.


Death toll from IED blast in Pakistan’s southwest rises to four

Updated 19 May 2025
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Death toll from IED blast in Pakistan’s southwest rises to four

  • Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades
  • The attack comes days after four paramilitary troops were killed in the province

QUETTA: At least four people have been killed and 12 others wounded in a bomb blast in Pakistan’s turbulent southwestern province of Balochistan, a security official said Monday.

An improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a parked car in Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Quetta.

“It seems the IED exploded before reaching its intended destination,” a local security official, Ghulab Khan, told AFP.

“All those killed are civilian passersby,” he added.

Riaz Khan Dawar, a senior local government official, confirmed the details to AFP, adding the explosion took place close to a paramilitary compound on Sunday evening.

Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces, foreign nationals, and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

The attack came days after four paramilitary troops were killed in the province.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the most active group in the region and often carries out deadly attacks against security forces, but the local chapter of Daesh and the Pakistani Taliban have also claimed recent attacks.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing its western neighbor of allowing its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan — a claim the Taliban deny.

In Balochistan, separatist violence has intensified, including a March attack by ethnic Baloch militants on a train carrying 450 passengers, which sparked a two-day siege and left dozens dead.

More than 241 people, mostly security officials, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to an AFP tally.


‘Brothers forever’: Pakistani military acknowledges Saudi role in truce with India

Updated 19 May 2025
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‘Brothers forever’: Pakistani military acknowledges Saudi role in truce with India

  • Pakistan and India this month traded missile, drone and artillery strikes over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • The conflict alarmed world leaders and friendly nations, with a Saudi minister traveling to New Delhi and Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s role in helping secure a ceasefire with India, after the nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged heavy cross-border fire this month.

India on May 7 launched a series of strikes across the Line of Control — the de facto border that separates the Indian-controlled and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. It also hit other sites on the Pakistani mainland, targeting what it claimed were militant positions.

Pakistan retaliated with strikes on Indian military targets before the ceasefire took effect on May 10, following efforts by world powers and friendly nations, including Saudi Arabia, to quickly de-escalate the conflict.

The Kingdom’s role in mediation was “very positive and wonderful,” Lt. Gen. Chaudhry told Arab News.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (right) meets Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir in Islamabad, Pakistan, on May 9, 2025. (PID/File)

Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars since their independence from British rule in 1947. Two of the wars were over the disputed region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part.

The recent escalation came days after New Delhi blamed Pakistan for a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir — Islamabad denied any involvement.

As the neighbors exchanged fire, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir visited both New Delhi and Islamabad. The May 10 truce was reached shortly afterward.

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar shake hands in New Delhi on May 8, 2025. (Ministry of External Affairs/File)

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan share close diplomatic and strategic relations, and the Kingdom has provided significant support to Pakistan during its prolonged economic challenges in recent years.

“The bond between the people of Pakistan and the people of Saudi Arabia is very strong, and we in the armed forces have a very close bond with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And this is a relationship that is based on respect,” Lt. Gen. Chaudhry said.

“Saudis are our brothers, brothers forever.”


Six killed, one injured as family feud turns violent in Pakistan’s northwest — official

Updated 19 May 2025
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Six killed, one injured as family feud turns violent in Pakistan’s northwest — official

  • The deceased persons included three men and three women
  • Injured woman shifted to Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital

PESHAWAR: At least six persons were killed and a woman sustained gunshot wounds in a violent altercation between two families in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, rescue officials said on Monday.

The incident took place near the Khatko Bridge area reportedly over domestic issues, according to District Emergency Officer Ghayoor Mushtaq Khan.

The deceased included three men and three women.

“As a result of the gunfire, one woman was critically injured, while six others died on the spot,” Khan said in a statement.

It added the Rescue 1122 service responded to the emergency, provided first aid to the injured woman and transferred her to Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital.

Family feuds are common in Pakistan and that often violent and last for long in parts of the country where tribal customs and laws are followed by residents.

In June last year, 10 members of a family, including a two-year-old, were killed in a late-night attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said.