ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousuf said on Tuesday that the Saudi government had not paid the announced compensation amount to heirs of people killed in the crane collapse incident in Makkah during Haj in September last year.

The minister was briefing the media on the official ‘Black Day’ being observed in the country to show solidarity with the people of Indian-held Kashmir who were being subjected to state repression.

He said the Ministry of Religious Affairs had paid Rs500,000 insurance amount along with a special grant of Rs500,000 as announced by the prime minister to each victim of the crane collapse incident. Eleven Pakistanis were among 107 people who lost their lives in the incident.

Talking about the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee, the minister said it would be reorganised and restructured. However, he declined to mention its schedule.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2016