Iran seeks apology from Saudi government for Mina tragedy, will Sharifs government dares to seek explanation from Arab kings?

(Pakdestiny) While Pakistan government is afraid of saying a ‘single word’ against the Saudi kings’ slackness over the deaths of 770 Haj pilgrims, Iran dares to demand apology from Saudi Arabia and also accused it of evading the blame.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 12, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz/Files

At least 18 Pakistanis and 155 Iranian pilgrims died in a crush of pilgrims on last Thursday near Mecca and over 300 Pakistanis and as many Iranians remain unaccounted for.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Muslim countries should demand Saudi Arabia be held to account for the deaths. The kingdom presents itself as the guardian of orthodox Islam and custodian of its holiest places in Mecca and Medina.

Will Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dare to seek explanation from Saudi kings? The answer will be in ‘big no’. Because the Pakistani government depends a lot on Saudi kings and even in the wake of deaths of Pak pilgrims the Pakistani government will be apologetic instead.
“Instead of blaming this and that, the Saudis should accept the responsibility and apologize to the Muslims and the victims’ families,” Khamenei said.

“The Islamic world has a lot of questions. The death of more than 1,000 people is not a small issue. Muslim countries should focus on this,” Khamenei said.

Other Iranian officials have also alleged the total death toll is more than 1,000.

Thursday’s disaster, the worst to befall the haj in 25 years, happened when two large groups of pilgrims collided at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers east of Mecca, on their way to performing the “stoning of the devil” ritual at Jamarat.

Shi’ite Muslim Iran is involved in a number of conflicts in Arab countries, including Iraq, Syria and Yemen, to great opposition from the Sunni Muslim kingdom. The deaths at Mina have caused the simmering acrimony between the two countries to flare up.

A cartoon published by Iran’s conservative Tasnim news agency depicted King Salman of Saudi Arabia as a camel trampling pilgrims under its hooves, while the conservativeKayhan newspaper showed the king shaking hands with one of the pillars symbolizing the devil in the haj’s stoning ritual.

Meanwhile, the Saudi daily AsSharq al-Awsat appeared to blame Iranian pilgrims for the disaster. It quoted what it called Iranian officials as saying a group of 300 Iranian pilgrims had set off to perform a ritual ahead of their assigned schedule, leading to a collision with other pilgrims. – Pakdestiny/Reuters

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