Saudi security authorities have warned pilgrims against using the annual Haj for political propaganda and said officials are keeping a close eye on thousands of them arriving in the Kingdom.
“We have not taken any extraordinary measures for this year’s Haj in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, but we are monitoring matters closely to prevent any outlaws from sneaking in for the Haj and spoiling it,” a security official said.
Arab News reports that airport officials said more than 150,000 pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia thus far. An estimated two million people are expected to perform the Haj this year.
The pilgrims are arriving as security has been tightened up worldwide, in light of the September 11 attacks on the US. Tensions have been high in the region, following those attacks and subsequent US military strikes on Afghanistan.
A Kuwaiti newspaper lately quoted intelligence sources as saying some Al-Qaeda members who may have fled Afghanistan might try to enter Saudi Arabia during the Haj season, which starts on February 21.
The United States is also concerned that Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda fugitives are trying to flee Afghanistan and Pakistan for Saudi Arabia.
Specifically, the concern is that suppurters of Bin Laden are boarding ships and planes from Pakistan in the guise of Muslim pilgrims who wish to attend the Haj in Mecca. U.S. security agents have been stopping ships and planes leaving Pakistan in the search for Bin Laden followers. Western forces and the United States have been also thoroughly monitoring Arab Gulf waters for suspected Al-Qaeda supporters who possibly escaped war-torn Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, the Pakistani daily, The Nation, reported that FBI agents had blocked two flights from leaving Pakistan for the Saudi city of Jedda last week. The daily added the Americans searched the planes for suspected members of al Qaeda.
The Haj pilgrims had boarded the flights in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. The United States believes Karachi is being used as a haven for al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives. One flight searched was that of the Saudi national air carrier. The Nation reported nobody was arrested but passengers resisted the search.
Arab Gulf diplomatic sources disclosed Saudi Arabia has agreed to fortify security steps for the Haj. They said this would include a thorough examination of visas and passports by arriving pilgrims.
A security official in Riyadh referred to the high security measures taken, “Our security measures are clear. The Haj season is one of worship and not for political statements or slogans aimed at distracting pilgrims from their religious duties”.
More than 1.36 million pilgrims from around the world, joined by 440,000 from inside the Kingdom, performed the Haj last year. (Albawaba.com)
