ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousaf said on Sunday night that 36 Pakistani pilgrims had lost their lives and 35 others suffered injuries in the Mina stampede.

Talking to state-run PTV, he said that 217 Pakistanis who went missing after the Mina tragedy had been found while 85 were still missing.

Khawar Ghumman adds: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed Sardar Yousaf to stay back in Saudi Arabia till the confirmation of the whereabouts of all Pakistanis.

Know more: At least 717 killed, 863 injured in Haj stampede at Mina

Minister says 217 missing pilgrims found, 85 still unaccounted for

Talking to Dawn, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, the spokesperson for the prime minister, said the government had taken special measures to reach out to all the families concerned in the country and elsewhere.

At present Prime Minister Sharif is in the US to attend the United Nations General Assembly session.

“The minister for religious affairs used to return home soon after Haj to welcome returning pilgrims but on the directive of the prime minister, Sardar Mohammad Yousaf will stay in Saudi Arabia to personally supervise relief and rescue activities,” the information minister said.

About the number of missing Pakistanis, he said that reports reaching here from Saudi Arabia suggested that 50 per cent of the pilgrims who could not be initially contacted had reported to their respective hotels.

“During the stampede many Hajis lost their mobile phones; some went to their relatives living in Saudi Arabia and others were in a state of shock and, therefore, could not contact their families back home,” he said.

According to the minister, all Pakistanis who died in the stampede will be buried in Makkah and the government will provide best possible help if their relatives wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia.

The UK’s Guardian newspaper has reported death of 236 Pakistanis in the tragedy, but the report was strongly denied by the Foreign Office.

The information minister said the casualty figures would vary until officially released by the Saudi authorities.

Syed Asad Murtaza Gilani, a former member of the National Assembly and nephew of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, is among the dead.

Agencies add: Prime Minister Sharif has directed the Foreign Office and the director general Haj to double their efforts to find the missing Pakistani pilgrims and reunite them with their families.

He issued the directives during a telephonic conversation with the DG Haj. The prime minister is being updated each hour about the missing pilgrims.

Earlier, Sardar Yousaf told a news channel that officials of the Haj mission had been sent to the camps of Pakistani pilgrims to check and verify various reports. The DG Haj and a team of doctors had been given special instructions about the bodies of Pakistani pilgrims, he said, adding that their relatives had also been informed.

He said Hajis were coming back to their ‘Maktubs’ and efforts were being made to find the remaining missing pilgrims and identify the deceased and the injured.

Meanwhile, Saudi Health Minister Khalid al-Falih said that 769 pilgrims had lost their lives and 934 suffered injuries in the Mina tragedy.

Talking to a news channel, Pakistani Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Manzoorul Haq said that most of the Pakistanis who died in the stampede had been identified. “Not so many Pakistani pilgrims were present at the site of the incident,” he added.

Confusion has persisted about exact death toll among Pakistanis in Thursday’s incident, with families of some pilgrims saying they were unable to contact their relatives. That confusion has fuelled rumours that the actual death toll was much higher than reported.

Manzoorul Haq rejected rumours that as many as 200 Pakistanis had died. “There is no truth in these reports,” he told PTV.

The families and relatives have been advised to call toll-free number in Saudi Arabia, 0800-11 666 22, and landline number in Pakistan for callers from Saudi Arabia, 92-42-35880054, for information about the deceased or injured. They can also contact on 966-12-5277537 to get information directly from Mina.

Published in Dawn, September 28th , 2015

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