ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has yet to issue a final policy for the Hajj pilgrimage this year, Pakistan’s religious affairs minister and a spokesman for the ministry have said, saying any final decision taken on number of international pilgrims allowed and standard operating procedures would be communicated to Pakistan in due time.
Saudi Arabia barred foreigners from the Hajj last year due to the pandemic for the first time in the kingdom’s modern history, allowing only a limited number of Saudi citizens and residents to perform the pilgrimage.
On Sunday, Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri said the kingdom’s Hajj ministry had not yet decided on the number of pilgrims and standard operating procedures for the upcoming Hajj, saying Pakistan would be “taken into confidence before making a final decision.”
“Pakistan’s religion ministry will be told about it, but until now ... they have made no final decision,” Qadri said in a video message to the nation.
“Saudi government has not yet issued a final policy on Hajj 2021,” religion ministry spokesman Imran Siddiqui told Arab News, saying Pakistan would follow all health protocols based on guidelines issued by the kingdom once they were finalized.
Last week, Pakistan had requested Saudi Arabia to include Chinese vaccines in its list of approved COVID-19 shots for visitors traveling to the kingdom to perform Hajj and Umrah.
“Pakistan has taken up with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the issue of vaccines which are mandatory for travel to Saudi Arabia for visit, Umrah and Hajj,” foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri had said in a statement. “We have proposed inclusion of some of the Chinese vaccines used in Pakistan in the list of vaccines approved by the Saudi authorities ...The Ministry [of Foreign Affairs] is actively pursuing this matter with the Saudi side.”
Except for a small number of AstraZeneca jabs, Pakistan has mostly administered Chinese vaccines to its citizens in a government-run immunization campaign that began last February. Around five million people have been inoculated so far.
Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis visit Saudi Arabia annually, mostly for pilgrimage. The kingdom is also home to a sizeable Pakistani expatriate community that makes the largest contribution to incoming remittances every year.
Pakistan says Saudi Arabia has not yet communicated final Hajj policy
https://arab.news/rf8ur
Pakistan says Saudi Arabia has not yet communicated final Hajj policy
- Religious affairs minister says kingdom has not finalized number of pilgrims and standard operating procedures for this year’s Hajj
- Spokesperson says Pakistan to follow all health protocols based on guidelines issued by the kingdom once they are finalized
India captain says will travel for Pakistan clash despite boycott
- Pakistan have announced they will boycott their match against India on Feb. 15 in Sri Lanka
- India need to be at the stadium on Feb. 15 to ensure they are awarded two points for match
MUMBAI: India captain Suryakumar Yadav said Thursday that his team would show up in Colombo for their T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan, despite their Group A opponents and arch-rivals boycotting the match.
“We haven’t said no to playing them (Pakistan),” Yadav told reporters at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, where India will begin their campaign against the United States on Saturday’s opening day.
“They are the ones who have said no. Our flights are booked and we are going to Colombo.”
India need to be at the stadium and ready to take the field for the February 15 match in order to make sure of being awarded the two points for a match forfeit.
The tournament, co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, has been overshadowed by weeks of political posturing in the build-up.
Bangladesh were kicked out for refusing to play in India and Pakistan’s government then told its team not to show up at the clash of the arch-rivals as a show of support for Bangladesh.
Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade, and meet only in global or regional tournaments events.
India start the T20 World Cup on home soil with a great chance of retaining the title they won two years ago and Yadav agreed they were the side to beat.
“The way we have been playing, it looks like we are the favorites,” he smiled.
If that seemed like an overconfident statement, the India captain was quick to caution: “There are 19 (other) good teams in the tournament, though.
“On a given day, when you play, you have to bring your A-game and play good cricket.”
India know that their opening opponents, the United States, caused the biggest upset of the 2024 tournament when they beat Pakistan in a super over.
Yadav said no team would be taken lightly.
“I’m sure every game will be very important,” he said.
