Ban on pilgrims should be withdrawn, Ayatollah Hafiz Riaz Hussain Najafi

Shiite News: President of the Shia Wifaq ul Madaris, Ayatollah Hafiz Syed Riaz Hussain Najafi, has condemned the government’s ban on pilgrims from traveling by road between Iran and Iraq and has demanded immediate withdrawal of the decision.

He said that pilgrims prepare all year round to visit the shrine of Imam Hussain (AS) on Arbaeen. A lot of emphasis has been placed on pilgrimage on the occasion of Chehlum, so the government should be aware that there are already many issues going on in the country, and it should avoid creating new problems that people may take to the path of protest.

He said that millions of people travel from Pakistan every year to attend Arbaeen to participate in the pilgrimage from Najaf to Karbala. The ban on by-road travel is regrettable and an admission of failure on the part of the government.

We believe that it is the responsibility of state institutions to pave the way and provide security to citizens. We are confident that our security institutions are capable of providing security to the pilgrims.

Hafiz Riaz Najafi said that the pilgrimage convoys are ready, the pilgrims have obtained their visas, their preparations are complete. People do not have enough resources to buy plane tickets by air.

The pilgrimage organizers have completed the preparations for their vehicles, the permits have been obtained, the rent and expenses have been paid, so the government should immediately withdraw its decision and allow by-road travel, as has been happening before.