Pakistan, Saudi Arabia enjoy eternal friendship: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Saeed Al-Maliki Tuesday said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were bonded in an eternal friendship and had a relationship of faith and belief.

He was addressing the Paigham-e-Haj Conference here.

Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Saliq Hussein, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, Palestinian ambassador to Pakistan, Pir Naqeebur Rehman, Allama Shabbir Hussein, Saad Nazeer, Sanaullah Khan and others also addressed the conference.

Maliki said serving pilgrims was pride of Saudi Arabia adding that it was their responsibility to facilitate the Pakistani pilgrims to their best.

Acting ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan said time had come when the sacrifices of Palestinians will bear fruit and Palestine will come into being as an independent and autonomous state and they will say prayers inside Al-Quds.

Ashrafi said the message of Haj Sermon 2024 was unity and harmony among the Muslims and appreciated the Haj arrangements made by the Saudi government.

He congratulated the Saudi government for the excellent arrangements and thanked them for their services to Pakistan.

He said this year eleven million people performed Umrah. “On the 27th night of Ramazan, 2.6 million people were present in the Haram,” he added.

The speakers said Kashmir and Palestine were the burning issues of Muslim Ummah and the entire Muslim world stood united with the people of Palestine and Kashmir.

They noted that the OIC needed to be strengthened adding that the Saudi services for the Muslims and Hajj were exemplary.

The speakers said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had unanimous stance on the issue of Palestine and their respective struggle for an independent and autonomous Palestinian state will continue.

The speakers said Hajj-e-Baitullah was an important pillar of Islam and the Saudi services for Haj were unforgettable and laudable.

The participants of the conference noted that the prevailing challenges required the Muslim Ummah to get united and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had to play their respective role for the unity and stability of the Muslim Ummah.

They said Makkah and Medina were the centres of Muslim unity as the way Muslims from all over the world say prayers in the leadership of an Imam in Makkah and Medina demonstrated that Harmain Al-Sharifain were the centres of Muslim unity.

The conference also adopted a resolution to laud the services of Shah Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Dr Taufeeq Al-Raba, Saudi Minister for Hajj, for making best Haj arrangements in 2024.

The resolution noted that the entire Muslim Ummah had full trust in the leadership of Saudi Arabia.

The resolution also noted that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had to play his role on the issues of Palestine and Kashmir and his services for the cause of Muslims all over the world should also be intensified.

Another resolution adopted at the conference also noted that some elements were raising the slogans of confrontation, violence and sectarianism to create divisions among the Muslim Ummah.

The resolution noted that Muslims and Islam were free from such acts adding that unity and stability of Muslim Ummah is solution to all the prevailing challenges of Islamic world.