It is regrettable that ministers and advisers of the blockading countries do not know the difference between Qatar’s call for the non-politicisation of Haj, and the fabricated accusation that Qatar called for turning the cities where the two holy mosques are located into a city state, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad al-Thani (pictured), CEO of Qatar Media Corporation (QMC), has said.
Further clarifying Qatar's position on the matter, he said: "Preventing people, who are ill and who cannot afford to travel by air, from going to Makkah by land is called restriction. Forcing people to travel in transit is also called restriction.
"When Qatar calls for the non-politicisation of Haj and stresses on the need to lift the restrictions on Muslim pilgrims from Qatar, this confirms Qatar’s keenness to prevent turning the cities where the two holy mosques are located into a city state."