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ISLAMABAD: A letter to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry purportedly sent by a Saudi prince highlighting corruption in hiring accommodation for Pakistani Haj pilgrims created quite a stir here on Wednesday, but government circles quickly described it as forged.
Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi assured the National Assembly that his ministry would look into the matter. He expressed his ignorance about the content of the letter, saying it had not been communicated to him.
He said during the question hour that the hiring of residential facilities in areas up to 3.5km from the Kaaba was a matter of routine as was evident from the past record.
The Saudi embassy, when contacted, avoided saying anything about the veracity of the letter. However, a senior official said on condition of anonymity that under the normal practice such letters were always routed through the Foreign Office or the embassy.
The chief justice took suo motu notice of the matter and sought a reply to the allegations from the religious affairs ministry. He observed that the issue appeared to be serious and might tarnish the government’s image.
The ministry promptly responded and submitted its comments which were sent to the foreign ministry with instructions to look into the matter. “Let the Foreign Office take up this matter on a government-to-government level,” the order said.
The letter, said to have been issued by the private office of Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud in Arabic language along with an English translation, accuses the government of ignoring a lucrative offer made by the company of the prince in Saudi Arabia — accommodation for at least 35,000 pilgrims within 2km of the Haram at a rent of 3,350 riyals each.
Instead, the letter said, Pakistan’s Haj directorate in Saudi Arabia acquired lodging facilities 3.5km from the holy site, contending that it could not exceed the prescribed rent limit of 2,500 riyals. The rent in the area is not more than 1,500 riyals. The letter alleged that the directorate had claimed to have rented the facilities at 3,400 to 3,600 riyals.
“This smacks of corruption and abuse of power,” the poorly drafted letter in English said, adding that the distance from the Haram would cause hardship during the performance of Haj, especially to the weak and the elderly.
The letter accuses the religious affairs secretary of squandering public money and claims that all the allegations of embezzlement and corruption can be proven if given an opportunity to appear before a committee.
In the letter, the prince appeals to the chief justice to intervene in the matter.
