Pakistan’s National Assembly Committee on Religious Affairs met under the chairmanship of Acting Chairperson Shagufta Jaman. The committee sought a briefing from the Minister of Religious Affairs and requested that the progress on Hajj assistants and other related matters be shared. Acting Chairperson Shagufta Jaman stated that numerous experiments are being conducted regarding Hajj and other matters, and that every officer in the Hajj Ministry is gaining new experience. She further informed that the company with which a three-year contract for Hajj services has been made is now on the black list, and the number of companies that applied for services this time should be disclosed.
Chairperson Jaman raised a question regarding the age criterion of 45 years for Hajj assistants, suggesting that if the retirement age is 60 years, why should the age for Hajj assistants be 45 years? The committee decided that the written test conducted for Hajj assistants should be made available, and the Minister of Religious Affairs should brief the committee in the next meeting. It was also decided that a sub-committee might be formed to discuss Hajj-related matters in the light of the briefing.
In another development, a gas cylinder explosion in a house in Chaman’s Tumpal region resulted in the deaths of five children. Police sources confirmed that the bodies of the children were recovered from the debris. The explosion also caused several rooms in the house to collapse. Chairman PTI Imran Khan stated that he had taken the name ‘Alima Khan’ as he wanted to name a girl, and he had taken that name.
The spokesperson of the FIA announced that a foreign airline’s air hostess was arrested following an operation at Karachi Airport. The Lahore High Court ordered the removal of PTI leader Usman Dar’s name from the ECL. Sources revealed that a student had attempted to take her life by consuming sleeping pills a few days ago. The student was married and had purchased the pills at home.
According to the post-mortem report, six pills were found on various parts of the student’s body. The spokesperson of the FIA stated that a foreign airline’s air hostess was arrested following an operation at Karachi Airport.
In other news, the Pakistan cricket team won the toss and chose to bat first against the West Indies in the match at Ahmedabad.
