November 26, 2003	Wednesday	Shawwal 1, 1424

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MIRPURKHAS, Nov 25: A landlord, who along with his son returned from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, has accused travel agents of cheating aspirants of Umrah.

Talking to journalists at the press club here on Monday, landlord Abdul Ghafoor Maher said travel agents received a huge amount under a package that included conveyance, residence and confirmed return ticket.

He said the Saudi Arabia government was not allowing passengers without confirmed return tickets and without such tickets, the people faced difficulties and sustained losses.

He said his agent was bound under the package he offered to provide five-day residence at a three-star hotel in Makkah. He said on the assurance of confirmed return tickets, he and his son boarded a PIA plane but when they reached Makkah, no accommodation was reserved for them. He said they were also not provided with transport facility and their return tickets were also not confirmed.

Mr Maher said lakhs of rupees were being looted from the people in this manner.

He further said many travel agents had arranged accommodations at remote areas in Makkah and Madina, resultantly the people were facing difficulties.

He demanded that the president, prime minister and the ministry of religious affairs should take notice of the malpractice and take action against the concerned agents.