Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net
Mumbai: The Hajis finding it difficult to have access to international passports may heave a sigh of relief as the centre is expected to issue machine-readable Hajj passes for this year. Hajis, till last year were issued special haj passport but Saudi government requires that all Hajis should have international passport.
English daily Times of India has reported that the minister of state for external affairs E Ahmad to have said that he met the Saudi deputy Hajj minister Hatem Qadi to resolve the international passport problem and a positive response is expected.
The CEO of Hajj Committee of India Mohammed Owais, however, said that the Committee so far did not receive any written instruction from the ministry. He said that a final meeting will be held with the Saudi Government on April 22. If the government gives it nod the Haj digital pass facility will be available for this year.
Earlier, the Indian pilgrims would go for Haj on a temporary passport provided by the Hajj Committee but due to security concerns about passes being forged the Saudi Government from this year made it mandatory for every pilgrim to hold international passport.
Since a considerable number of hajis are from rural areas the Indian government and the Muslim NGOs had sought a year’s time from the Saudi Government to comply with the rule.
Link:
http://hajcommittee.com/