'Haj pilgrimage will depend on decision of Saudi Arabia govt': Union Minister Naqvi

As COVID-19 cases are slowly declining in the second wave of the pandemic, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that the Haj pilgrimage will depend on the decision of the Saudi Arabian government. The Union Minister further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India will stand by the side of the Saudi government in its decision regarding Haj in 2021. Stating that last year Haj was cancelled, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that nothing has been decided yet for 2021.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: 'It depends on Saudi Arabian govt'

As per reports, less than 5,000 people from India are like to go on Haj pilgrimage this year as Saudi Arabia has capped the number of pilgrims due to COVID-19. According to Fazal Siddiqui, deputy CEO (operations) of, Haj Committee of India, “This year, Saudi Arabia has announced that only 60,000 can go on Haj. Out of which, 15,000 will be the residents of that country. The remaining 45,000 will be from all over the world. So if we calculate India’s quota according to the population, it will be around 4,500. Otherwise, in normal times, 2 lakh used to go on the pilgrimage from India alone.”

Earlier on March 2021, Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry had made it mandatory for people to get COVID-19 vaccinations before arriving in the kingdom for Haj this year, reported Saudi newspaper Okaz. In a report, the paper quoted the Health Ministry’s signed circular had said that “COVID-19 vaccine is mandatory” for all the individuals who are willing to come to the Haj and it will be one of the key conditions for receiving the permit. Haj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia which is the holiest city for Muslims. 

Indonesia cancels Haj amid COVID-19

Earlier on June 3, the Indonesian government cancelled the Haj pilgrimage for the people in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation for the second year in a row due to growing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. It should also be noted that for many Indonesians, the Haj pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime event, with an average wait time of 20 years due to a quota system.

COVID-19 situation in India & Saudi Arabia

India so far has recorded over 2,86,94,879 positive cases, out of which 2,67,95,549 have successfully recovered and 3,44,082 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 1,20,529 new cases, 1,97,894 fresh recoveries and 3,380 deaths have been reported. Currently, the total number of active cases in the state is 15,55,248. 

As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia has so far reported over 455,418 positive cases, out of which 7,424 have died and 438,206 have recovered. 

(Image: AP, ANI)