Saudi Arabia has opened up the kingdom for Umrah or lesser pilgrimage for overseas Muslims but with conditions. The Kingdom eased its covid-19 related restrictions just last month. According to recent media reports, the Kingdom will only provide Umrah permits to overseas Muslims within the age limit of 18 to 50 years. Under the new rules, overseas pilgrims will have to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with Saudi approved vaccines and will have to download and register the recently launched Tawakkalna app prior to entering the Kingdom.
It is pertinent to note that Saudi Arabia has only approved Chinese vaccines widely administered in Pakistan – Sinovac and Sinopharm – on the condition that travellers had also received a booster shot of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca. While this is good news for many in the country waiting since the past year to perform the pilgrimage, with these conditions in place, it is safe to assume that the number of people travelling to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan will significantly reduce.
For one, the limited stock of both Pfizer and AstraZeneca restricts pilgrims from getting the booster shot. Health experts have also advised to prioritise their use for the elderly with heart conditions and pregnant women. Secondly, in the past a considerable number of pilgrims were made of the above 50 age group. However, the new age limit prohibits them from gaining the Umrah permit. And lastly, to use Tawakkalna during their travel, the pilgrim will need phone and data services on their cellphone. This means a traveller will have to purchase a working sim in the Kingdom. Considering that many Muslims spend their lives saving to perform the pilgrimage at least once, the additional cost can act as a burden.
Believers who had been eagerly waiting for Saudi Arabia to ease travel restrictions are bound to be disappointed with these new rules. This is not to say that reducing the head count will not help in curbing the spread of the virus. But the new conditions make the process more costly or cumbersome for men and women, who flock to the holy places from not just Pakistan but across the globe. The Saudi authorities must reconsider some of its new rules, especially the one related to the age limit. One must understand that with believers hailing from different financial class groups, many are only able to save enough to perform the pilgrimage post 50.
