New Delhi: As many as 98 Indians have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage of Haj to Mecca, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the total deaths of Indians in the entire Haj period last year were 187.
"This year, 1,75000 Indian pilgrims visited Mecca for Haj. The Haj period is from May 9 to July 22. This year, till now, 98 deaths have been reported," he said.
"The deaths have been due to natural causes, chronic illnesses, and old age. Six people died on the day of Arafat and four were accident-related deaths," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. The MEA spokesperson was responding to a question on the deaths of Indians during Haj.
The MEA also said that they oppose any move giving political space to extremism. Jaiswal said when asked about the Canadian Parliament observing "one minute silence" in Hardeep Nijjar's memory.
"We naturally oppose any moves giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
In an unusual move, the Canadian parliament observed a "one-minute silence" two days ago in memory of Nijjar. The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar's killing.
New Delhi rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd". India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra last week said India's main issue with Canada continues to be the political space that Ottawa provides to anti-India elements which advocate extremism and violence. India has repeatedly conveyed its "deep concerns" to Canada and New Delhi expects Ottawa to take strong action against those elements, he said.
Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia on June 18 last year. The murder is being probed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
