‘Confusion’: India pilgrims and tour operators await official Saudi rules for umrah
The news of Saudi Arabia’s decision to reopen umrah for pilgrims from outside the Kingdom from August 10 brought little cheer to India’s pilgrims and private tour operators as they await clarity on their participation.
Currently, direct flights between India and Saudi Arabia are suspended as part of the COVID-19 restrictions.
Further, Saudi media, quoting Hisham Bin Saeed, spokesperson for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, reported that pilgrims from outside the Kingdom would come only from non-banned countries. It added that the countries currently facing the travel ban are India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Lebanon.
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SA Kader