ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan has requested the Saudi Haj and Umrah ministry to register the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine for Hajj pilgrimage 2021.
According to the Foreign Office, authorities made a contact with Saudi Haj and Umrah ministry requesting the kingdom to include Chinese coronavirus vaccines along with AstraZeneca and Pfizer for Hajj pilgrimage.
The FO spokesperson in a statement said that Pakistan has asked Saudi Arabia to add some Chinese vaccines to a list of recommended vaccines declared mandatory for Hajj and Umrah.
“Foreign Office is in touch with Saudi authorities on the vaccination matter,” said FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved soon.
Saudi Arabia has issued a list of recommended vaccines, which does not include vaccines manufactured in China. Pfizer, Oxford, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines have been recommended by the kingdom for use, according to reports.
Minister for Religious Affair and Interfaith Harmony, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri earlier had said the pilgrims less than 20 or over 50 years of age may not be permitted to perform hajj this year.
Noor-ul-Haq Qadri said the hajj 2021 would take place under unusual circumstances with particular norms, eligibility, criteria, age restrictions and rules.
He said 40,000 to 50,000 Pakistanis might be permitted to perform the sacred religious ceremony of Hajj in 2021. The intending pilgrims would be required to strictly follow SOPs (standard operating procedures) during hajj, he added.
Merely people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus would be permitted to perform Hajj this year and his ministry was ready to fulfill all these conditions.
On April 5, Saudi Haj and Umrah ministry said in a statement that three categories of people would be considered immunized— those who have received two doses of the vaccine, those administered a single dose at least 14 days prior, and people who have recovered from the infection.
Only those people will be eligible for permits to perform Umrah, as well as to attend prayers in the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah.
It added that the condition also applies for entry into the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina. The ministry said the policy starts with Ramazan, which is due to begin later this month, but it was unclear how long it would last.
It was also not clear whether the policy, which comes amid an uptick in coronavirus infections in the kingdom, would be extended to the annual Haj pilgrimage later this year.
#BREAKING: #SaudiArabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will grant Umrah and visit permits to the Two Holy Mosques to vaccinated people only starting from Ramadan pic.twitter.com/JXDH2xx4wl
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) April 5, 2021
