Pakistan’s Asif Bashir is set to receive a prestigious Indian Civil Award this month for his act of bravery during Hajj 2024.
Last year, he saved a total of 44 individuals including 24 Indian nationals from succumbing to the extreme hot weather in Saudi. The young man provided them with water, life-saving medicines and even carried multiple pilgrims on his shoulder for an extended distance of 2-3 kilometres.
In this regard, he was praised by Indian ministers and this year has been invited by India to receive the award.
He will be awarded with Jeevan Raksha award on January 26, 2025.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif upon receiving information sought a detailed inquiry report from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Religious Affairs with regard to the Mina incident.
According to reports, the prime minister wants to acknowledge and honour the commendable done by Asif Bashir before awarding Indian award.
What did Asif Bashir say?
In an interview, Asif said, “It was an emotional moment when you save the life of anyone, it is the best feeling, it is also in the [Holy] Qur’an that ‘saving the life of one person is like saving the whole of humanity’.”
Bashir, among 550 Pakistanis sent by the government to assist Hajj pilgrims, said it was “strange” to see people collapsing and falling to the ground, but he felt “blessed” to have gotten the opportunity to save them.
According to Saudi Health Minister, almost 1,300 people died during Hajj in 2024 due to walking long distance in soaring temperatures to perform the Hajj rituals.
Last year, the temperature reached 51.8 degrees Celsius in Makkah.
