PESHAWAR, Jan 25: President Asif Ali Zardari has conferred Pakistan’s third-highest civilian award on a government official who according to the citation saved the lives of several pilgrims, mostly Indians, during the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia last year after they fainted due to the extreme heat.
Over 1,300 people were killed due to extreme heat during the Haj in 2024.
The Sitara-i-Imtiaz award was conferred on Asif Bashir at a special investiture ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Islamabad and attended by parliamentarians.
According to the citation read out at the ceremony, Bashir, who is currently posted as a computer operator at the Deputy Commissioner Office in Peshawar, was selected by the Ministry of Religious Affairs as a Moavin-i-Hajj (Haj Assistant) for the previous year’s Haj.
During the Haj operation, the temperature soared to 51.8 degrees due to which several pilgrims had to face extreme difficulties.
Bashir during the Haj was serving as a Haj assistant in Mina where the tents of the pilgrims belonging to different countries, including India were present.
On the second day of the Haj, several Pakistani, Indian and British elderly pilgrims fell unconscious due to extremely hot weather, the citation said.
In the midst of the crisis, Bashir and his five-member team rushed to the scene, providing first aid to the affected pilgrims, many of whom were Indian citizens, it said.
Despite the dire circumstances, Bashir carried 26 pilgrims, including 17 Indians, on his shoulders to the hospital. Thanks to his swift actions, the lives of these individuals were saved, the citation said.
Some relatives of the Indian Council General Jeddah were also among those rescued by him, the citation said. (PTI)
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