Pakistan Plans Special Passports For Umrah, says Minister
The Pakistani government is considering introducing special passports for Umrah, as it has already done so for Hajj, to check illegal immigration to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Religious Affairs Minister Ijazul Haq said.
He told reporters that as a first step, the government had decided to make it mandatory within one year for those seeking Umrah visas to have machine-readable passports.
The government will then introduce special passports for Umrah if illegal immigration to Saudi Arabia through this avenue continues, he said.
On the other hand, the minister said the Saudi Hajj minister proposed at a recent meeting to increase the quota for Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to 160,000.
He said the two governments would soon sign a formal agreement that only married people below 40 years of age would be granted Umrah visas with their families.