Saudi Arabia rejects sharing administration of Haj with other nations

Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki al-Faisal has rejected a suggestion to share the administration of the annual Haj pilgrimage with other Muslim nations.

According to the Dawn, the prince stated that administration of annual Haj pilgrimage is a matter of "sovereignty" and "privilege."

Saudi Arab has been facing criticism in the wake of last month's disastrous stampede in Mina, in the outskirt of the holy city of Makkah, which killed over 1,400 piligrims including 114 Indians.

Iran, which lost the highest number of pilgrims in the incident, has accused Saudi Arabia for mismanagement and had called for an independent body to oversee the administration of the Haj.

However, the prince said that the Kingdom has overcome many problems regarding Haj and will not give up that distinction of being the servants of the two holy places-

The people of Makka know their territory the best and one cannot take that away from the people, he added.