Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has said that Saudi Arabia has decided to allow foreigners, including Pakistanis, to perform Hajj this year.
Ashrafi made this announcement through a tweet on Saturday. He said that people who want to go to Hajj this year will have to submit a medical report showing that they did not fall ill during the last six months.
He said that interested people would also have to submit a medical fitness certificate along with their Hajj applications. He welcomed the decision of the Saudi government to allow foreigners to perform Hajj this year.
سعودی عرب کا غیرملکیوں کو حج کی اجازت دینے کا فیصلہ،علامہ طاہر اشرفی
— HUM News اردو (@humnews_urdu) May 22, 2021
Saudi Arabia, which holds guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites in Makkah and Medinah, barred foreigners from Hajj last year due to the coronavirus pandemic for the first time in the kingdom’s modern history. However, the Saudi government allowed a limited number of its citizens and residents to perform Hajj 2020.
سعودی حکومت کا فیصلہ خوش آئندہ ہے،علامہ طاہر اشرفی
— HUM News اردو (@humnews_urdu) May 22, 2021
COVID-19 infections are still rising in several countries across the globe. There have been at least 153,508,000 reported infections and 3,351,000 reported deaths caused by the new coronavirus so far.