Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — A Pakistani national died of thirst and starvation seven months ago after getting lost in the deserts.

The man was found in an exhausted by security authorities inside the Saudi territory apparently after crossing through the sands from the United Arab Emirates on foot. He was rushed to hospital but within three hours he succumbed. His body had been kept in the hospital morgue ever since as the authorities were clueless about his family details.

The man was later identified as 32-year-old Wajid Saadullah, a Pakistani national, from biometric data available with the Saudi Passport Department.

Deeply dehydrated, Saadullah was spotted in an unconscious state by the Border Guards during stormy weather near the iron fencing that divides Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the middle of the night on Sept. 4, 2018. Covered fully by sand, he was in a pathetic condition and was battling for his life. Dust filled his mouth and ears and his respiratory system was badly affected, according to a medical report.

The Border Guards rushed him Batah General Hospital where he was given medical aid but he died on the same day a few hours later.

With no identification documents available, it was uphill task for the authorities to identify the man. After following due procedures, Saudi passport officials visited the morgue on Sunday in an effort to ascertain his identity.

According to noted Pakistani social worker Niaz Munshi, who accompanied the officials to the hospital, biometric details stored in the database of the Passport Department showed that the deceased had lived in the Kingdom previously and was deported from Jeddah in 2015.

His was identified as Pakistani national Wajid Saadullah. His passport carrying the number AH-6573141 was issued on Nov. 16, 2009.

According to the rules, the consent of a deceased’s family is mandatory for burial of the body inside the Kingdom or repatriate it back home. However, in this case there are no details of the family available and it is likely to cause further delay in performing his last rites.

Social worker Munshi urged anyone who has information about Saadullah’s family to contact him on 00966591152947 to expedite the burial or repatriation of the body back home to Pakistan as per the family’s wishes.