Don’t put pilgrims under the spell of Umrah

The Pakistani government is concerned about individuals who misuse Umrah visas to send beggars to Saudi Arabia. Pakistan was given the yellow light by Saudi Arabia.

Reporting from CNBC TV18, Friday (27/9/2024) the warning was no joke. The Ministry of Religion said that if this trend continues it could affect pilgrims from Pakistan Umrah and Hajj.

“The Saudi Ministry of Hajj has issued an alert to the Ministry of Religion in Pakistan, urging action to prevent Pakistani beggars from entering the kingdom on Umrah visas,” the report said. .

In response to the warning, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs plans to introduce an ‘Umrah Law’ which aims to regulate travel agents to facilitate Umrah trips and bring them under legal supervision.

The ministry is also looking at ways to stop beggars from traveling to Saudi Arabia disguised as pilgrims. This includes conducting surveys.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi recently met Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Ahmed Al-Malki. He assured that strict action would be taken against the network that helped in the case. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was asked to dismantle the network, which Naqvi said was tarnishing Pakistan’s reputation.

Pakistani pilgrims often travel to the Middle East under the guise of pilgrimage and many use Umrah visas and pray in Saudi Arabia. This was also clarified by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Zeeshan Khanzada last year.

Khanzada also said that several Gulf countries have raised concerns regarding Pakistan’s behavior abroad, especially regarding work ethics and involvement in criminal activities.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Overseas and Human Resource Development noted that 90 percent of smugglers arrested abroad are from Pakistan. The FIA ​​has been asked to target networks that send kickers to Saudi Arabia.

Recently, the FIA ​​removed 11 people suspected of being beggars from a flight to Saudi Arabia at the Karachi airport. During the investigation, these people admitted that they were planning to beg in the Kingdom.

In September of the previous year, 16 beggars who were disguised as pilgrims were also taken out of a plane going to Saudi Arabia.

In addition, Khanzada reported that many of the pickpockets arrested at the Grand Mosque in Mecca were Pakistani citizens.

(sym/fem)