THE government`s decision to ban travel to Iraq via Iran by the land route for Arbaeen seems both abrupt and arbitrary, coming just two weeks before the key religious event. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi tweeted on Sunday that the `difficult decision` had been taken in the interest of `public safety and national security`. He did not elaborate how pilgrims` travel by land posed threats to public safety and national security.

Iran and Iraq do not appear to have issues with zaireen travelling by land; the problem seems to be a local one. Shortly before the minister`s announcement, the Iranian embassy in Islamabad had issued a statement saying it `had made arrangements` to facilitate pilgrims` movement to Iraq. Moreover, Mr Naqvi, at a trilateral meeting of the interior ministers of Pakistan, Iran and Iraq in Tehran earlier this month, had dropped no hints that the land route would be closed to Pakistani zaireen. Religious groups, political parties, tour operators and pilgrims wishing to travel by land have criticised the government`s decision. Many pilgrims who are ready to travel to Iraq have been stranded in Quetta, while tour organisers say they face massive losses as they spent large sums on visa, transport and lodging arrangements for pilgrims.

In light of the difficulties that the state`s abrupt decision has created for Pakistani zaireen that too at a time when the largest number of pilgrims heads to the holy sites in Iraq and Iran the government must reconsider the land travel ban.

It is true that many parts of Balochistan suffer from major security issues, and massacres have occurred in the province on a sectarian or ethnic basis. But providing security to citizens, and ensuring freedom of movement, is the state`s responsibility, and it should provide adequate security cover to buses travelling through Balochistan en route to Iran. It is true that some people, under the guise of pilgrims, enter and remain in Iraq and Iran illegally, or use these countries as a gateway to unlawfully enter Europe. This problem can be addressed by making tour operators responsible for the safe return of all pilgrims. The interior minister`s suggestion that all zaireen fly to Iraq and Iran is not a practical one, as many Pakistanis cannot afford the expensive airfare it would entail. Therefore, the state must rescind the land travel ban and allow pilgrims to proceed.