THAT no less than three inquiries should be ordered into the matter shows the gravity of the mismanagement bordering on scandal with regards to Pakistani Hajis' accommodation during the pilgrimage. The latest probe order comes from the Prime Minister House, the president having moved the Federal Investigation Agency much earlier, in addition to the suo motu action taken by the Supreme Court on a letter reportedly sent by a Saudi prince. It is now a matter of wheels within wheels, with everyone rightly or wrongly passing the buck. A former Haj director-general has already been taken into custody, his successor has been summoned to Islamabad and suspicion has fallen on several other officials. Rao Shakeel Ahmad, the former Haj DG, has alleged that he is being made a scapegoat to save those that are actually guilty. He has blamed Religious Affairs Secretary Agha Sarwar Qizilbash for the scam. Mr Ahmad also held the religious affairs division responsible for the delay in acquiring accommodation for the Hajis, despite regular reminders. He claimed that the hiring of accommodation was deliberately delayed, and that the creation of a new supervisory committee had made no difference to the situation.

Of an estimated 170,000 Pakistanis who went to perform Haj this year, 80,000 were to be provided accommodation at cheap rates by the government. Regrettably, it failed to do so, for a web of overlapping bureaucratic responsibility instead of helping the Hajis added to chaos and caused untold suffering to a large number of pilgrims. In a gathering of 2.5 million human beings in Makkah and the tent city of Mina, one could understand minor inconveniences and upsets here and there. But the very fact that the Saudi authorities raised the issue with Islamabad shows the dimension of the chaos that gripped thousands of Hajis who at least during part of the pilgrimage remained virtually shelter-less or paid higher charges for accommodation. Now that the foreign ministry has been given a role in Haj affairs, we would like to ask in what way this will help future pilgrims. We hope the results of the inquiries will be made public and action taken against the guilty.