Pakistan pauses Hajj contracts after Saudi letter

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stopped signing contracts for hotels and transport for Hajj this year after receiving a letter from the Saudi Arabian government, a Hajj ministry spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

In the letter, Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to not sign any agreement related to this year’s Hajj due to the uncertain situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 20,000 lives across the world.

“We are closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and will inform you as soon as it gets better,” reads the letter from Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten to Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noor-ul-Haq Qadri.

Hajj ministry spokesperson, Imran Bashir Siddiqui, said Qadri discussed the matter with his Saudi counterpart who assured him that if possible Hajj would certainly be held. “The consultations are underway,” he added.

Earlier in a statement, Qadri had said there is no truth in social media rumours about Hajj being postponed.

The Saudi government will announce suspension of Hajj after consultation with other Muslim countries, however, such reports about the Hajj were premature, he had said.

A total of 86,765 intending pilgrims were selected through general balloting out of 149,295 applicants. The kingdom has already suspended Umrah and imposed restrictions to contain the epidemic.

On Thursday, the Saudi interior ministry announced it has further tightened travel restrictions between the country’s 13 regions as the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases reached 900.

The additional measures prevent entering and leaving the cities of Riyadh, Makkah and Medina, with longer curfew hours imposed on all three cities.