Galal Fakkar, Special to Arab News

JEDDAH, 20 November 2003 — The recent terrorist attacks in the Kingdom will not affect development projects, said Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed.

“These criminal acts will end soon,” the governor said.

“Plans and projects will not be affected,” he said after laying the foundation stone for the Makkah Towers project.

He said Makkah would see a number of vital projects implemented in the next few months, including the Jabal Omar project.

Prince Abdul Majeed, who is chairman of the Central Haj Committee, said government departments were gearing up for the coming Haj season.

More than two million pilgrims from the Kingdom and abroad are expected to take part in the Haj, the largest congregation of Muslim faithful in the world.

On Monday, Prince Abdul Majeed opened the new headquarters of the Supreme Committee for Reconciliation in Jeddah.

He said the committee would take care of not only Saudis but also expatriates. “I personally have tried to win clemency for some foreign prisoners,” he added.

Dr. Nasser Al-Zahrani, executive president of the committee, said the organization had received 1,040 cases during the past two years.

“They included 155 cases of execution, and the committee succeeded in winning a pardon for 25 people who had been sentenced to death,” he said.

The committee was also instrumental in settling some 100 social disputes, especially between relatives. The panel includes about 50 prominent personalities including scholars and educators. Sometimes judicial authorities or families ask the panel to intervene to settle certain major disputes, Al-Zahrani said.

The committee plans to attract endowment properties to meet its annual expenditures.