ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affair and Interfaith Harmony, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has said the pilgrims less than 20 or over 50 years of age may not be permitted to perform hajj this year.
Noor-ul-Haq Qadri said the hajj 2021 would take place under unusual circumstances with particular norms, eligibility, criteria, age restrictions and rules.
He said 40,000 to 50,000 Pakistanis might be permitted to perform the sacred religious ceremony of Hajj in 2021. The intending pilgrims would be required to strictly follow SOPs (standard operating procedures) during hajj, he added.
Merely people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus would be permitted to perform Hajj this year and his ministry was ready to fulfill all these conditions.
Saudi authorities may permit hajj aspirants to have sound health without severe illness and other health complications.
Though the minister said that the Saudi authorities have not yet given a green signal for going ahead with the hajj arrangements as various Saudi departments’ hajj, umrah ministry, tourism, and health, the interior was still weighing options to make hajj safe and secure.
Earlier, Saudi  Haj and Umrah ministry said in a statement that three categories of people would be considered immunized— those who have received two doses of the vaccine, those administered a single dose at least 14 days prior, and people who have recovered from the infection.
#BREAKING: #SaudiArabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will grant Umrah and visit permits to the Two Holy Mosques to vaccinated people only starting from Ramadan pic.twitter.com/JXDH2xx4wl
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) April 5, 2021
Only those people will be eligible for permits to perform Umrah, as well as to attend prayers in the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah.
It added that the condition also applies for entry into the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina.
The ministry said the policy starts with Ramazan, which is due to begin later this month, but it was unclear how long it would last.
It was also not clear whether the policy, which comes amid an uptick in coronavirus infections in the kingdom, would be extended to the annual Haj pilgrimage later this year.
