Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday condoled the death of five Pakistanis reportedly killed in a bus accident in Madina, Saudi Arabia.

Local media has been reporting on the incident since yesterday, while neither the Pakistani nor Saudi governments have issued an official statement.

The NA speaker expressed sorrow over the bus accident in a post on X.

“Hearing the news of the Umrah pilgrims’ accident caused deep sorrow and grief,” the speaker said.

According to the post, Sadiq directed officials at the Pakistani embassy in the kingdom to “cooperate with the families of the deceased pilgrims and those injured in the accident”.

He also prayed for the swift recovery of those injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, PPP Secretary General Humayun Khan condoled the incident in a post on X, calling the fatalities “extremely regrettable”.

“[The] Pakistan People’s Party equally shares the grief of the affected families,” he wrote. “I demand that the government ensure full support for the affected families.”

He also prayed for the swift recovery of those injured in the incident.

Khalid Majeed, Pakistan’s Consul General in Jeddah, told Geo News that the consulate was actively assisting the injured and was also in contact with the tour operator sponsoring their pilgrimage.

“NOCs (No Objection Certificates) have been issued for the burial of three deceased individuals in Saudi Arabia,” the consul general added.

In a similar incident, a bus carrying 40 Pakistani Haj pilgrims belonging to Sialkot had an accident while travelling from Makkah to Madina on the morning of October 15, 2011.

Then-Director General Haj Syed Abu Ahmad Akif received a message from Saudi Arabia stating that 31 pilgrims sustained injuries and were admitted to hospitals in stable condition.

The 2011 crash occurred in Vaddi Furra, 120 kilometres south of Madina.