In a major achievement, Pakistan ranked second in the number of Umrah pilgrims who visited Saudi Arabia during the last 3.5 months in the ongoing season.
According to the details, the Umrah season started on July 30 in Saudi Arabia this year, and overall 1,964,000 pilgrims from across the globe. Nearly two million pilgrims have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia from all parts of the world to perform the pilgrimage during the current Umrah season.
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Indonesia has topped the number of Umrah pilgrims during the season as more than 551,000 pilgrims were belonging to Indonesia. Meanwhile, Pakistan came second with 370,083 Umrah pilgrims. 230,000 pilgrims were from India and 100,000 from Egypt.
Pakistanis ranked second in the number of Umrah pilgrims who visited Saudi Arabia during the last 3.5 months in the ongoing season. pic.twitter.com/hsSBjO3wLN
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Last month, Saudi Arabia announced a three-month extension of the Umrah visa for pilgrims from all nations. The visas were issued using an internet system called “Nusuk,” making the process simpler for the pilgrims.
As Covid rules are being relaxed, more pilgrims were able to perform Umrah. Saudi Arabia recently also allowed women to perform Hajj and Umrah without a mahram (blood relative) or male guardian. The decision ended the decade-long restriction for women to have a male guardian to perform Hajj and Umrah.
Read more: Women no longer need male guardian to perform Umrah, Hajj
The decision was made perhaps to revive the Hajj, Umrah, and tourism industries in the country. Saudi Arabia saw a decline in the number of pilgrims visiting the country due to COVID-19 restrictions. The government sought to revive religious and recreational tourism in the country. The decision benefits the women who do not have any male guardians but wish to visit the two holy Grand Mosques for Hajj and Umrah.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah stressed the need for Umrah companies and establishments to commit to providing all the required service packages to the pilgrims with the aim of raising the quality of services in the sector and facilitating the journey of the pilgrims so as to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.