As Saudi Arabia imposed temporary travel restrictions and suspended the issuance of certain visas to people of 14 countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, the dreams of many Kashmiris who were intending to embark on their long-awaited Umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia have been dashed.
Zimam Riyaz, a 22-year-old boy from Srinagar’s Habba Kadal was enthusiastic to perform his long-awaited Umrah pilgrimage, but his dream was shattered after he received a last-minute cancellation call from the travel agent on April 10.
This last minute call stopped Zimam’s spiritual journey, and left him in despair and disillusionment.
“The travel agent informed him at the last minute that he cannot proceed to Saudi Arabia since their visas have not been approved due to restrictions imposed by the Kingdom recently,” one of the relatives of Zimam told The Mint.
“He had even completed all his packing and was looking forward to his journey,” said Zimam’s mother Rukhsana.
“I wanted to perform Umrah during Ramadhan (March) but my friend who was to accompany me was waiting for his passport. So I delayed it. I wish I knew,” said Zimam, an MBA student from Srinagar.
“The last-minute cancellation hurts,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention that the temporary suspension of visas by Saudi Arabia does not impact pilgrims from India who are travelling to Saudi Arabia strictly for Hajj and have secured Hajj visas. It specifically targets Umrah, business, and family visa categories to prevent unauthorised individuals from performing Hajj without proper registration and to avoid overcrowding.
The travel restrictions come after the tragedy during the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage, where over 1,000 people were killed. Many of these pilgrims were unauthorised.
The restriction is an effort to control overcrowding due to the Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials informed.
Zimam and his friends have been informed that they can choose to go anytime after June. He had paid Rs 1.17 lakh for the 21-day trip to Saudi Arabia which will now be reimbursed.
“You do not plan such a pilgrimage overnight. He has been saving his pocket money for years. And was looking forward to it after planning for many months. I think he will try in October again,” said Zimam’s mother.
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