Saudi Arabia allows Hajj for 60,000 immunised pilgrims

• People under 18, above 60 not allowed this year

Saudi Arabia has allowed 60,000 people from across the world, including Pakistan, to perform Hajj this year, Special Representative to the PM on Religious Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi said.

In an interview with SAMAA TV Saturday night, he said that the government was in talks with Saudi officials regarding the number of people from Pakistan allowed to perform the sacred pilgrimage this year.

“People under the age of 18 and above 60 years won’t be eligible for Hajj,” Ashrafi said, disclosing that those going for the pilgrimage would have to quarantine for three days.

Coronavirus vaccination is a must, he pointed out.

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Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri said that the government had reached out to the Saudi health ministry to allow people inoculated with the Chinese vaccine.

“The World Health Organisation has accepted and approved the vaccine as well,” he said.

Earlier the Kingdom said that it won’t allow people who got the Chinese vaccine to enter the country.

Last year, the kingdom hosted a downsized Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Only up to 10,000 Muslim residents of Saudi Arabia itself were allowed to take part, a far cry from the 2.5 million Muslims from around the world who participated in 2019.

In a relaxation of coronavirus curbs last October, Saudi Arabia opened the Grand Mosque for prayers for the first time in seven months and partially resumed the Umrah pilgrimage. (SAMAA | TV)