MAKKAH: The Makkah Emir's Office has said it will come down with an “iron fist” on anyone assisting persons who do not have permits to enter the holy sites or perform the Haj pilgrimage. Abdul Aziz Al-Khudhairi, undersecretary at the Emirate, said that those who fully cooperate and help to make the pilgrimage season successful would, in contrast, be welcomed “with a rose”. Speaking at the launch of the Monitoring Haj Work Committees in Makkah Sunday, Al-Khudhairi said that “anyone who upsets the organized plans for the Haj will be met with an iron fist”. “We have the capability, the power, the desire and the will, to stop any attempt to frustrate those plans, particularly on the part of those people who side with illegal pilgrims, or attempt to get them into the holy sites surreptitiously,” he said. The undersecretary said that 250 government officials would represent a “hammer of retribution” for flouters of the law. “Every Saudi and foreign resident in this country has enough sense of belonging and proper behavior to refrain from such unacceptable acts, and the Haj is a ritual in which officials, organizers and the public alike are all equal,” he said. “But if anyone is found engaging in that sort of behavior then the hammer of retribution will be upon them, even if, as officials, we don't want to have to use it.” Al-Khudhairi said the “Haj and Umrah Force” was a positive measure. “We are not in the same situation we were in previous years, and future years will see even greater improvements,” he said. “Everyone's working towards the same thing, which is to serve the guests of God in accordance with instructions from the ruler… The Emir's Office is not here to try and catch people out as some might think, but to support in a complementary way.”
