PuL-I-Alam (Pajhwok) Afghanistan 31 August 2017 (Media)
12 Afghan civilians including women and children killed on Wednesday in a US Air Strike blamed by Logar Provincial Council member Hasibullah Stanekzai.
He told to reporters that air raid was conducted "by foreign forces" late Tuesday in Bari village near provincial capital Pul-e-Alam
US forces are the only foreign military conducting air raid in Afghanistan. The strike targeted two well-known Taliban commanders who at the time were hiding in a civilian house, Stanekzai said.
Mawlavi Ahmadullah, Taliban's governor for Khoshi district in Logar, and a deputy commander of Taliban forces in the region, Qari Naqibullah, were killed in the raid, along with several other fighters.
A spokesman for the provincial governor, Mohammad Salim Saleh, spoke of "civilian casualties in a foreign forces air strike," but provided no details.
US military spokesman John Ross said: "We are still not clear on what happened there. We are looking into it".
It is the second air raid this week against Taliban forces that killed civilians, earlier on Monday 13 civilians were killed and seven wounded in Western Herat Province in US Forces strike.
According to the United Nations, the number of civilian casualties from US and Afghan air strikes in the first six months of 2017 increased by 43 percent compared to the same period in 2016.
US troop strength in Afghanistan has reached about 11,000 soldiers, exceeding the previous official level of 8,400 US forces, the Pentagon said.
Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, Pentagon joint staff director, confirmed the higher-than-previously disclosed force strength in a press conference on Wednesday.
The revelation was made in an effort by Defense Secretary James Mattis to promote transparency, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.
President Donald Trump last week announced an expansion of US forces to hike operations against armed groups and to train and advise Afghan government security forces.
The undetermined troop increase is to be added to the existing 11,000.
Washington's involvement in Afghanistan since late 2001 is the longest war in US history.
Brussels Information Office MOFA 31 August 2017
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Foreign Minister of State of Qatar affirmed that Qatar does not believe in internationalizing the Gulf crisis, but rather believes in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and resolving the crisis through dialogue. He stressed that Doha is the party that initiated the call to respect the Kuwaiti mediation.
At a press conference in European Parliament in Brussels today, Qatar Foreign Minister said that the countries of the West did not respond to the accusations against the State of Qatar regarding the support of terrorism, noting that the siege countries did not provide any evidence to support their accusations about Qatar's interference in their internal affairs.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stressed that the siege countries are the party that violated the Riyadh Agreement, stressing that these countries have put the GCC at risk by attacking a member state, pointing out at the same time that there is consensus within the GCC on a general policy and on that each member state is sovereign.
Minister called on the siege countries to prioritize resolving other crises, instead of creating a new crisis with Qatar.
With regard to pilgrimage (Hajj), Mohammed bin Abdulrahman AlThani said that Saudi Arabia has not facilitated the pilgrimage process for Qatari citizens, and that Doha considers the Saudi authorities responsible for their safety during the pilgrimage season.
The Foreign Minister said that the State of Qatar withdrew its ambassador from Iran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia and returned him to Tehran after the causes have ceased to exist. He pointed out that the siege countries do not accept the other opinion, and accuse all those, who disagree with them, for the support of terrorism. He added that their list of "terrorist" individuals and institution was based on their own assessments.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stressed that the State of Qatar is committed to all its contracts even in the midst of the crisis, and that Qatar is working with international organizations to manage the aviation affairs.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan 31 August 2017 (Daily The News)
The Judge of Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC), Rawalpindi, Muhammad Asghar Khan, on Thursday while announcing the verdict in the Benazir Bhutto murder case acquitted five accused (Taliban), awarded 17-year imprisonment each to former deputy inspector general (DIG) Saud Aziz and former superintendent of police (SP), Rawal Town, Khurram Shehzad, for abetting the crime, and declared former military dictator Pervez Musharraf an absconder.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each on both convicts.The police arrested the former DIG and the former SP from the premises of the court on the occasion as they were on bail.
The court announced the verdict in the Adiala Jail premises under tight security arrangements.In a landmark decision, the court declared former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf an absconder in the case ordering seizure of all his moveable and immovable property.
Five suspects who had been in jail for nine years, including Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid were acquitted on murder charges. The investigation agencies failed to prove a link of the five accused with Baitullah Mehsood, therefore, the court acquitted them.
The two former policemen have been awarded 10 years in prison under Section of 119 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and 7 years each under Section of 201 of the PPC. They have also been fined Rs500,000 each; in case they do not pay the fine, they will have to spend another six months in jail.
Saud Aziz, who was the DIG police when the incident happened, had been facing charges of abetting the killing of Benazir Bhutto as he ordered the transfer of then superintendent of police Ashfaq Anwar from Benazir’s rally to Sadiqabad. The prosecution also blamed him for not conducting the autopsy of the deceased as it was essential for investigations.
In November 2008, the ATC indicted Aitzaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Abdul Rasheed, Rafaqat Hussain and Hasnain Gul for killing, hatching criminal conspiracy to kill, abetting the perpetrators, using illegal explosive material and spreading terrorism on Dec 27, 2007 when 22 people, including former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, were killed in a gun-and-bomb attack in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh, when she was leaving after attending an election rally.
After more than nine years of her assassination and hundreds of hearings, the prosecution failed to link those arrested and the main accused, including former Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone strike several years ago.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutors during the media talk said that former DIG Saud Aziz was a facilitator of the crime as he did not provide security to Benazir Bhutto on the occasion. Secondly, he did not allow to conduct the postmortem of Benazir Bhutto’s body, which was in police custody. Thirdly, on the directions of Saud Aziz, police had washed out the crime scene immediately, the prosecutors said.
To a question, the FIA prosecutors said that some of the accused recorded confessional statements according to Section 164 before a magistrate in Benazir murder case. But, in the last moments during the trial, the accused changed their statements and told the court that the police had taken their signature on a plain paper.
As the defence and prosecution completed their arguments here on Wednesday, the ATC, Rawalpindi, Judge Muhammad Asghar Khan reserved the verdict, which was announced on Thursday.
During Wednesday’s hearing, accused Aitzaz Shah’s counsel, Naseer Tanoli, gave his arguments and said that investigation by the FIA was full of flaws, adding that the accused in the case were not even asked why they were arrested.
Giving arguments, the counsel said that Aitzaz Shah was declared a suicide attacker while the seminary administration was not interrogated from where he got training. Tanoli also said that Ismail, who was declared an operator in investigation and had taped Baitullah Mahsood’s call, had fled the court.
The FIA Prosecutor, Chaudhry Azhar, in his arguments, said that the attack was carried out from outside of the vehicle and not from inside, so why interrogate those who were in the vehicle. He also said there were flaws in the dates of arrest of the accused on the part of police and not FIA.
An FIR was registered over the incident on the behalf of the state, following which the murder trial of five suspects began in February 2008. But when the PPP won the general elections in 2008, the investigation was handed over to the FIA.
During Wednesday’s hearing, FIA Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar also said that PPP leader Babar Awan was in Bhutto’s back-up vehicle, which was under the control of party leader Farhatullah Babar and added when the investigation was handed over to the FIA, the vehicle was recovered from Zardari House in Islamabad.
He also said that former president Pervez Musharraf had excused himself from appearing before the court citing death threats from al-Qaeda. “Of the 121 witnesses, only statements of 68 were recorded,” he informed the court further.
While suspects Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat’s counsel Jawad Khalid told the court that the statements received from his clients held Musharraf, among others, responsible for the crime. He also claimed that there was no solid proof against his clients and there was a conflict between investigating officers’ statements and the weapons recovered from the crime scene. “This raises suspicion,” he remarked, adding that the court should show mercy towards the innocent and highlighted that “the real culprits are not being punished for the crime.”
FIA Prosecutor Khawaja Asif accepted that there was no record of the suspects in the DNA report. He also claimed that “Bhutto was targeted for deviating from the US policy” and added that there were no explosives on the suicide jacket that the suspects had submitted for DNA testing. Moreover, the suspect’s DNA report had not been submitted to the court, he said.
On the other hand, the counsel for the other two suspects, former Rawalpindi CPO Saud Aziz and former Rawal Town SP Khurram Shahzad, said that nobody could stop a suicide attacker, but it could be investigated who facilitated the attacker.
The counsel pointed out that the statements of those injured in the attack had not yet been recorded, and the post-mortem of the bodies was not done.The court was also informed that out of the three mobile SIMs which were seized, two were not registered in any citizen’s name while the third SIM’s ownership was not investigated.
Pervez Musharraf remained an absconder since the beginning. A separate case was filed against his continuous absence, the trial for which was yet to begin.Meanwhile, after the hearing, talking to media persons FIA Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar said that the police had submitted four challans while three had been submitted by the FIA in Benazir murder case.
Chaudhry Azhar said according to anti-terrorist clause, it was the responsibility of the investigation officer to cordon off the crime scene. He also said the FIR was registered at 8:20pm while the crime scene had been washed two hours before registering the FIR.
He also said there was sufficient evidence against the accused, adding Saud Aziz was a facilitator of the crime as he did not provide security to Benazir Bhutto at that time.The prosecutor said there were 121 witnesses in the case, while the statements of only 68 people were recorded excluding the statement of driver Abdul Rehman.
The counsel for Saud Aziz talking to media persons said that conducting postmortem of the Benazir was not the responsibility of former CPO, adding Zardari had not allowed him to carry out postmortem. He said that prosecution had not told the court why the crime scene had been washed. Saud said that Benazir did not come out the vehicle.
Concluding arguments before the ATC court of Rawalpindi, counsel for FIA Muhammad Azhar Chaudhry stood his grounds that former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharaff was behind the murder of Benazir Bhutoo.
He also rejected evidence of a telephonic conversation between former head of TTP and a cleric in which the chief of banned outfit hailed the terrorist for executing the attack successfully.He claimed that Musharraf through his close aide former director general of the National Crisis Management Cell Brigadier (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema developed the fake evidence to save himself and mislead the investigators.
He also blamed the then DIG Saud Aziz for his involvement in the killing as he ordered transfer of then superintendent of police Ashfaq Anwar from Benazir’s rally to Sadiqabad, adding that Aziz did not conduct autopsy of the deceased essential for investigations. A total of seven judges in different times heard the Benazir murder case in 10 years.
Frankfurt am Main
30 August 2017
(Yahoo News/AFP)
Some 70,000 people in Frankfurt will have to leave their homes this weekend in one of the
biggest such evacuations in post-war Germany, police said Wednesday, after an unexploded
World War-II bomb nicknamed "blockbuster" was uncovered.
The operation on Sunday will allow for the safe defusal of the 1,400-tonne British bomb,
which German media said was nicknamed "Wohnblockknacker" (blockbuster) during the war for
its ability to wipe out whole streets or buildings.
The unexploded bomb was discovered on Tuesday during building work a stone's throw from the
Westend Campus of the Goethe University Frankfurt, police said in a statement.
Officers are guarding the site and there "is currently no danger".
Police said the bomb in question was a HC 4000, a so-called high capacity bomb used in air
raids by British forces.
"Due to the large size of the bomb, extensive evacuation measures must be taken," police
said.
The Wismarer street where the ordnance was found is close to the city centre and just some
2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) north of the main Zeil shopping area.
More than 70 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs are regularly found buried on
German land, legacies of the intense bombing campaigns by the Allied forces against Nazi
Germany.
One of the biggest such evacuations to date took place last Christmas, when another
unexploded British bomb forced 54,000 people out of their homes in the southern city of
Augsburg.
Another 50,000 residents had to leave their homes in the northern city of Hanover in May
for an operation to defuse several WWII-era bombs.
29 August 2017
(Media Reports)
Insurance pandats in the United States forecast huge claims from the Harvey Hurricane
damages towards costs to repair homes and infrastructure. Chubb Ltd. (CB), Travelers Corp.
(TRV) and other insurers could face as much as US$20 billion in losses warned by JPMorgan
Chase & Co.
TheStreet’s founder and Action Alerts PLUS portfolio manager Jim Cramer estimates around
US$ 100 billion. Others on Wall Street also have big forecasts.
Property damages from Tropical Storm Harvey “in the range of US$30 billion” could impede
GDP growth in the third quarter of 2017, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a new note.
Following are Five Costliest Hurricanes During 1980-2017 in USA
Katrina US$ 160 Billion
Sandy 70 Billion
Andrew 48 Billion
IKE 35 Billion
Ivan 27 Billion
Washington
28 August 2017
(Daily Dawn, Pakistan) The talks between Pakistan and the US on the new American strategy for South Asia got another setback on Sunday when Washington learned from Islamabad that Pakistan would like to reschedule talks with a senior US official that were to begin on Monday.
“The visit of acting Assistant Secretary [Alice] Wells has been postponed on Pakistan’s
request. It will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient time,” a senior State Department
official told reporters on Sunday.
The rescheduling of Ms Wells’ visit was the second such request from Islamabad in less than
a week. Pakistan had earlier requested rescheduling of visit to Washington of its Foreign
Minister Khawaja Asif, who was expected in the US capital on Aug 25 on an invitation from
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Apparently a third visit, that of a delegation led by senior White House National Security
Council official Lisa Curtis, will also be rescheduled. Ms Curtis, who played a key role in
formulating the new US strategy for South Asia, was expected to arrive in Islamabad this
week.
The proposed talks on three levels — cabinet, foreign affairs and security — were aimed to explore how the United States and Pakistan could rebuild their relations under the guidelines set by President Donald Trump in his Aug 21 speech.
Mr Trump used that speech to announce the new strategy, which denounced Pakistan for
allegedly allowing terrorists to maintain safe havens inside its territory. It also gave
India a bigger role in Afghanistan, stoking fears in Islamabad that India would use this
opportunity for stirring troubles in the bordering areas of Pakistan.
The strategy also suggested that punitive actions could be taken against Pakistan if it did
not stop alleged cross-border attacks on US and Afghan troops.
The State Department had announced on Saturday that Ms Wells would arrive in Islamabad on
Monday for talks on the administration’s South Asia strategy. This would have been her
second visit to Islamabad in less than a month.
Ms Wells, who is also Washington’s acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, made her “introductory trip” to Islamabad on Aug 3 and 4, when she met Foreign
Minister Asif, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Hayat. She also visited New Delhi
during that trip.
As Islamabad reached out to its allies, particularly China, for consultations on the US
strategy, observers in Washington warned that the new policy would push Pakistan further
away from the United States.
Laurel Miller, who was Washington’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan till June,
warned that the US decision to give a greater role to India in Afghanistan would
“significantly antagonise the Pakistanis” as it “pushes the Pakistanis’ most sensitive
buttons”.
The possibility that the new strategy could also cause Islamabad to close the US supply
route to Afghanistan was also raised at a news briefing by a senior US official who
acknowledged that Washington still counted on the lines of communications on ground that
passed through Pakistan. President Trump’s decision to enhance US military presence in
Afghanistan increases the importance of this supply line.
Responding to a question, the US official said that while developing the new strategy, the
United States did consider the threat posed to ground lines of communications to Afghanistan
that ran through Pakistan if India got more involved in Afghanistan.
“The ground lines of communications in Pakistan are very important to the US. The United
States has had gone through periods where it had to rely more on Northern routes, which
[are] more expensive and not the best option,” the official said. “So, we do count on those
lines of communications in Pakistan.”
Doha, Qatar 27 August 2017 (Qatar Airways)
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) of global aviation industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA), effective June 2018.
The rotating one-year term will commence at the end of IATA’s 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Sydney and will continue until the end of its 2019 AGM.
Al Baker will succeed current IATA BoG Chairman, Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Airlines.
Akbar Al Baker said: “I am honoured to have been chosen by my fellow board members to head this important body, at a time when the industry faces numerous challenges on a multitude of levels. To represent and lead the IATA Board of Governors is a tremendous privilege, and I am grateful for the opportunity to represent an industry that plays such a vital role in the global economy.
"For more than two decades I have lived and breathed aviation, and I look forward to working alongside the Board of Governors to champion passenger rights and improve security standards across the industry, as well as continuing to promote the rights of freedom of flight for all."
IATA represents some 275 airlines comprising 83 per cent of global air traffic. The election of Al Baker to this prestigious post is a clear recognition of the leading role that he plays in a dynamic and highly competitive industry.
Karachi 27 August 2017
Aug 27
(APP)
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Sunday inaugurated Pakistan’s first Liquified Natural Gas
(LNG) terminal at the Port Qasim.
It was Pakistan’s first LNG terminal established by Engro Terminal Limited within a record
time period of 330 days and a capacity to re-gasify up to 600 mmscfd.
Speaking at the ceremony, the prime minister said that the government brought this
inexpensive source of energy to the country in record time. He said the previous three
governments made several attempts to introduce LNG source of energy but failed.
Within eleven months of the contract signed, the terminal started functioning which was an
example of cooperation between the government and the private sector, he added.
The prime minister said other source of energy like oil, hydel and nuclear were considered
as expensive means as the country required an integrated and efficient source to overcome
its crippling energy needs.
The bids for the whole process were completely transparent and world acknowledged government’s
efforts in this regard, he added.
He said the world was thinking that the project would take several years but the government
succeeded by introducing the LNG based energy. The prime minister said within the short span
of the PML-N government, the first LNG terminal system had started working.
The completion of terminals was necessary for supply of energy, he said and thanked the
concerned authorities for making the task possible. He said no terminal in the world had been
completed in the shortest time with full re-gasification facility.
The prime minister said the terminal has so far handled 100 LNG cargo ships with 6.1 million
tons of LNG. It would benefit power, fertilizer, textile and other industries from huge
supplies of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), he added.
He said with capacity to inject 600 mmscfd RLNG in the system, Engro terminal emerged as the
single largest gas source in Pakistan.
With the supply of RLNG, the country was saving about $1.5 billion each year when compared
with other expensive energy resources like diesel or furnace oil,he added.
The prime minister said with supply of RNLNG, the CNG sector had been revived with ample
supply of power for the fertilizer industry.
He said the second terminal would start functioning in November this year followed by at least
two other terminals in the private sector. The prime minister said it was a good step for
the private sector to participate and build their own terminals keeping in view the largest
demand and market.
Expressing his confidence, the prime minister said Pakistan energy issues would be resolved
soon and termed the inauguration of the terminal a great success in the right direction.
It was Pakistan led and owned project for energy solution which was made possible within
shortest time when compared with other countries of the region including Bangladesh.
Later, the prime minister speaking at another briefing ceremony of PGP’s LNG project
terminal, said that it would be inaugurated in November this year. He said the government was
fixing the power crises of the country and soon the load-shedding would be a thing of the
past.
He said it was all possible due to the huge contribution by LNG sector and referred to Engro
terminal with re-gasify capacity of 600 mmscf and 100 per cent capacity by utilizing
4.5 million tons of LNG.
The prime minister expressed his confidence that soon in 2018, the terminals in the country
would be able to utilizing 9 million tons of LNG for the next five year. He said it was all
possible due to synergy of these terminals, great efficiency and the cheapest lowest gas
term contract in the world.
The prime minister said the LNG market was much larger and competition was hard so it was a
‘win win situation’ for the private sector, government and the people. The private sector
would be bringing in their own LNG, regasifying it and delivering it to customers through
third party access regime which had already been put in place, he said, adding thus, there
would be a system in which customers would be free to opt for purchase of LNG on their own.
The prime minister said the government would stay out of buying LNG and building terminals as
it would be done by the private sector. The government would step in only when the private
sector failed to meet the demand, he added.
He said the LNG community in the world had already appreciated government’s efforts in this
regard. The government’s vision was to deliver LNG in any quantity to any customer in any
part of the country and eyeing complete replacement of furnace based energy plants in 2019.
The prime minister termed LNG import ‘a game changer for Pakistan’ as the fifty per cent
primary supply for energy was being made from gas.
“Nawaz Sharif had decided not to go for ground breaking of the projects but for completion
of projects,” he said and referred to long awaited completion of Lowari Tunnel.
The prime minister said the PML-N government was for completion of projects despite the
political upheavals.
He said the second LNG project was an equity based with no debt on the project, reflecting confidence of the
investors. The prime minister announced that the government did not invest a penny in these
projects rather it was upto the private parties. It had only leveraged their demands and
ensured transparent bids.
The investing companies would not get a penny unless they started delivering gas.
The asset value for the second LNG project must be over $300 million and that too for the
fifteen years as projects spoke for themselves, he added.
Doha 26 August 2017 (QNA)
Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) called on Saudi authorities to immediately end all the measures and restrictions they have enforced on citizens and residents of the State of Qatar.
They also called on Saudi authorities not to use Holy sites as a means for political pressure.
Report released by NHRC on violations of the right to religious practice in result of the lack of cooperation of Saudi institutions and Saudi media campaign spreading hatred among Saudi citizens not only an act of inciting violence among Saudi citizens against their brothers in the State of Qatar. but also a clear violation to all international laws in this regard.
The committee said that it conducted the report on the violations committed by Saudi authorities in obstructing the Qatari society in practicing Haj and Umrah. The report has documented all violations occurred due to the measures taken by the siege countries.
It also covers obstacles faced by those Qataris who went for Umrah during Ramadan as well as those wanted to perform pilgrimage this year. The report contains grievances of Haj trips organisors and the financial losses faced by them.
The committee stressed for compensation to individuals, businesses and all institutions operating for the Haj as their economic interests in the Qatar and Saudi Arabia were severely affected.
NHRC report contains references of international agreements and accords related to the right to practicing religion.
The committee also called for addressing smear campaigns, the inciting of violence and racial discrimination made by newspapers in addition to official and semi-official media outlets.
Other recommendations included having the international community support the right of those who want to perform the Haj, applying constant pressure on Saudi authorities to allow access for the Haj and guarantee the safety of those who go, and working hard on lifting the siege enforced on the State of Qatar.
The committee also called on the United Nations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to issue an urgent statement clarifying their position to global and Islamic public opinion regarding this topic in particular.
The committee noted that manipulating religious sentiments and preventing large numbers of Muslims from carrying out the Haj could lead to hostile feelings towards those who barred them.
The committee also called on the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to communicate with the Saudi government and prepare a report on the material and emotional damage the pilgrims and companies Qatar suffered, and to present it to the Human Rights Council to take the necessary steps in that regard.
The committee called on parliaments in the Islamic world to put the issue of politicizing the Haj on its agenda to evaluate it and take a clear stance from the obstacles mentioned in the report, aimed to prevent Qatari pilgrims from performing the Haj.
The committee said that it will send the report to 600 rights institutions, media organizations as well as all the parliaments around the world.
It will also address the UN Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights.
The committee also requested a meeting on freedom of religion.
It will also hand the report to UN committees charged with combatting all forms of racial discrimination, promoting human rights and people with disabilities.
It will also address the Human Rights Council through procedure 1503.
The report will also be presented to regional organizations such as the EU, African Union, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab League.
The report also discussed the impact of the surprise factor of the decisions made lately by the Saudi government and its claim that it was a result of mediation.
The committee stressed in that regard that the Saudi decisions were late, and came to put an end to the flood of criticism directed at the kingdom for politicizing the Haj and the impact that has had on its reputation.
The committee noted that it documented a request made by the Saudi authorities to all Qataris who entered through the Salwa crossing to sign a paper to acknowledge that they came to perform the Haj.
The reality was, the committee said, that a large portion of those who passed, came to check on their families and to provide them with financial help.
The committee also noted in its report that the Saudi government did not officially issue its latest decision, which would have clarified the mechanism and guaranteed the safety of pilgrims from the State of Qatar.
It noted that Saudi Arabia still rejects coordinating with the Qatari Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in that regard.
The committee said it took that as a signal that Saudi authorities reject that cooperation.
They highlighted that there wasn't a Saudi consulate in Doha that looks after Haj-related issues.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia rejected establishing a special representative for that regard.
The report stated that Saudi Arabia still consider Haj as a gesture which can be given or not given to whoever it wants, adding that Saudi Arabia is not dealing with this matter as a basic human right.
The report also stressed that the committee is following all the detouring attempts of the Saudi government concerning pilgrims from Qatar.
The report concluded that Saudi Arabia violated by its decisions many basics and human rights laws, which are the basics of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it is considered by its simplicity and wide authentication as international custom.
The report warned in this context, that Saudi Arabia violated clearly a number of articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other articles of the Arab Charter of Human Rights and the GCC Human Rights Declaration and other international declarations and charters.
Qatar authorities has also real apprehension about the safety and security of its citizens, because of the unprecedented hate and incitement speech, and because of the racial Saudi decisions against residents, as well as the absence of illustrative details concerning this matter, and based on all this, the committee for the Haj and Umrah issued a statement in which it apologized for not conducting the Haj for 2017, listing its arguments for this decision.
The report also included a statement of NHRC president Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri, in which he said that they defend the right of Qataris and residents to visit holy places, and this is not politicization, it is a defense to human right, and who is putting costly material and moral obstacles is exploiting these holy places.
The NHRC's report reviewed the series of violations the siege countries have committed since June 5.
It included the closing of Qatar's only land border with Saudi Arabia, which will have a big impact on residents with limited income if they were allowed to perform Haj.
There was also the closure of airspace and marine territories for Qatari airlines and navigation.
All trade and movement, including that of individuals were prohibited as well.
Siege countries also made threats and ordered its citizens residing in the State of Qatar to leave.
It also prohibited its citizens from travelling to Qatar, in addition to expelling all Qatari citizens residing there.
The report highlighted that the measures taken by siege countries took place at the beginning of Ramadan, which usually sees a heavy movement by the Qatari society towards holy sites in Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah.
They noted that the measures did not exclude those who wanted to visit the holy sites, with many being treated in a humiliating way, which carried a hint of racism.
With the time for performing the fifth pillar of Islam approaching, these measures remained in a clear violation to the right of citizens of the State of Qatar and its Muslim residents who want to perform the Haj.
The report then discussed the committee's communication with the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs which noted that the total number of people who applied to perform the Haj this year was 21,000. A total of 2,400 were approved, in addition to official missions.
The committee said that it continues to receive visits from those impacted by the decisions of the siege countries in terms of religious practice.
The report noted that the NHRC has a large number of complaints related to the violations right to religious practice, and the economic and emotional effects the violations have left.
The NHRC noted that the losses of Qatari companies operating for the Haj was at the tens of millions of Qatari riyals, due to discriminatory procedures adopted by Saudi authorities.
The committee said that eight Haj companies were suffering from losses worth QR30mn.
That's in addition to the losses of offices specialized in facilitating the procedures for pilgrims seeking to obtain visas as well as airline and hotel tickets.
The committee said that the losses and damages have affected the entire Qatari society, due to the surprising nature of the measures which came without a timetable or schedule to cause the maximum damage possible.
The committee also documented dozens of cases of pilgrims being kicked out from holy sites in a humiliating manner.
There were also cases of cancelled hotel reservations in a discriminatory manner against Qatari citizens and residents.
Another obstacle the NHRC said was that Saudi decision to prohibit Qatari citizens residing abroad from travelling directly to Makkah or Madina for the Haj. Instead, they have to come to Doha first.
In addition to the economic burden and emotional distress this causes, it also shows Saudi Arabia is using those obstacles as a means of pressuring its political rivals.
The report noted that even if a citizen or resident of Qatar overcomes all those obstacles, they might still be met with violence due to the Saudi media campaign inciting violence.
Social media pages of people close to the government of Saudi Arabia also incite violence against people, just because they are citizens or residents of Qatar.
The committee said that it has data which suggests that there is a network for inciting violence in all siege countries that coordinates its work and rhetoric.
One of the most horrific acts this network has done was by the call for terrorist attacks in Qatar by famous media personalities known for their close ties with the current Egyptian regime.
They also called for destabilizing the country's security and for investors to leave.
The report noted that the fact that Egyptian authorities did not open an investigation with those personalities for their remarks, signals that the Egyptian regime is involved in making those remarks.
The report also noted that NHRC documented cases of the siege countries using children in the violence-inciting rhetoric in GCC television shows directed at the GCC's public opinion.
Other media personalities broadcast news, articles, and tweets on Qatar's intention to target Saudi Arabia.
This caused citizens and residents of Qatar to feel threatened as they might be accused of terrorism or other acts that are being propagated systematically. This forced some to avoid performing the Haj this year.
Saudi Arabia, which hosts and supervises the Hajj, has with other Arab governments imposed sanctions on Qatar and cut all transport links with the country in recent months, accusing it of supporting Iran and backing terrorism - charges Doha denies.
Relations between Shia Muslim-led Iran and predominately Sunni Saudi Arabia are at their worst in years, with each accusing the other of subverting regional security and supporting opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
"Anyone who causes conflict and discord among Muslims ignores the blessing of harmony, imitates those who lived in ignorance [before Islam], harms his people and cheats his nation," Sheikh Saleh Mohammed al-Taleb told the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have flocked to Mecca from around the world to perform the annual pilgrimage next week.
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