Pakistan begs before Saudi Arabia, pleads for mercy for…

Hajj 2025: In yet another major diplomatic setback on the global, amid rising tensions with India, Pakistan is now pleading Saudi Arabia to restore its private Hajj quota for the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage. According to reports, Islamabad has sent an official appeal to Riyadh in both Arabic and English languages, pleading the desert Kingdom to restore its Hajj quota.

The letter, sent by the Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs, pleaded its case by stating more than 67,000 people, most of whom are elderly, will not get a chance to perform again, if Saudi Arabia does not restore the Hajj quota granted to Islamabad.

In its letter, the Pakistani ministry stated that due to technical difficulties and inability to pay fees to certain service providers, these 67,000 aspiring pilgrims failed to register for Hajj 2025 before the due date, and may lose the chance to perform the pilgrimage during their lifetimes as most of them are elderly people.

“The mistake that has happened will not happen again. In the coming years, we will follow the rules and regulations strictly. But this time, kindly have mercy on these people,” the ministry reportedly wrote in its letter to the Saudi Arabian government.

Asserting that most of the affected people are elderly, the letter claimed that many of them are at an age where they many not get another chance to perform Hajj next year. “It is difficult to express their disappointment and pain in words,” the Pakistani ministry wrote, while noting that the Hajj fees of these 67,000 pilgrims has already been deposited.

Additionally, the Pakistani ministry made an emotional plea to the Saudis in the name of humanity and “Islamic brotherhood”, saying that even if there is a tiny space left in Mina (a massive temporary encampment outside Mecca where pilgrims stay during Hajj), its should be given to Pakistan.

Islamabad also promised to ensure that such an issue will not arise in the future, stating that private Hajj operators have been directed to take all necessary steps on time. Pakistan’s first Hajj flight departed from Islamabad on April 29 with 393 Hajj pilgrims onboard.

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