Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Noor ul Haq Qadri, has said that COVID-related limitations on Pakistani Umrah pilgrims would be relaxed soon.
He made these remarks while inaugurating a new building for Hajj pilgrims at Haji Camp Phase 7 in Peshawar on Sunday.
“COVID-related restrictions are being lifted globally; they will as well be relaxed for Pakistani Umrah pilgrims in two to three weeks,” the minister said.
Noor ul Haq Qadri said that the new building would provide all facilities to the pilgrims under one roof.
“Besides teaching courses and classes for Hajj pilgrims, the facility will also offer verification of required documents and vaccination under one roof,” he added.
He also denied the rumors that the government is going to increase Hajj and Umrah expenses and said any additional payment will be received in terms of a hike in fares of airlines.
Last month, the minister had said on a TV channel that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had imposed additional restrictions on pilgrims from Pakistan, including eight other states.
He said that the Saudi authorities are allowing in only those travelers from Pakistan who have received a booster shot of any of the four approved vaccines, including Oxford/Astra Zeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson, other than two doses of the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines.
