Saudi Govt’s visa suspension won’t impact Hajj pilgrims from J&K: Officials

By: Mubashir Alam Wani

Srinagar: The Saudi Arabia government’s recently imposed temporary ban on the issuance of Umrah, tourist and visit visas ahead of the Hajj-2025 has sparked concerns among the aspiring pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the officials, who spoke to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) clarified that this move was a routine pre-Hajj measure and will not affect the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage from India, including Jammu & Kashmir.

Executive Officer of the J&K State Haj Committee, Dr Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, clarified that the ban applies specifically to Umrah, tourist and visiting visas and has been enforced in coordination with multiple countries.

The senior officer said that this decision will prevent the misuse of Umrah or visit visas by individuals, attempting to perform Hajj illegally—a problem that affected accommodations and logistics in previous years.

“Last year, those who went on Umrah or other visas often stayed back and performed Hajj without authorisation, which led to overcrowding, particularly in Mina tents,” the senior officer said. “This year, such practices will be curbed due to the ban and legitimate pilgrims will benefit with better access to facilities.”

He added that this was done every year, typically a few days before Hajj, however, this time the visa suspension was imposed nearly 20 days in advance, stating that might have caused some confusion.

The Executive Officer of the J&K State Haj Committee said that the move is expected to streamline the Hajj process and reduce issues faced by officially registered pilgrims, especially those who often encountered logistical challenges due to overlapping stays by non-Hajj visa holders.

“It helps avoid unnecessary crowding and mismanagement, especially in tents and accommodation areas,” the official noted.

As for the current status of Hajj preparations from Jammu & Kashmir, over 3,600 pilgrims are scheduled to perform Hajj this year under the government quota. Their orientation and training programmes are currently underway, and vaccination drives will be completed in the coming days.

As per the tour operators, the temporary suspension of visas by Saudi Arabia does not impact Hajj pilgrims, who are travelling to Saudi Arabia strictly for Hajj and have secured Hajj visas.

As per the officials, the early travel restrictions comes after the tragedy during the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage, where over 1,000 people were killed—(KNO)