Saudi travel relief

Good news for Pakistanis from Saudi Arabia! The Saudi authorities have announced removal of the restriction on travellers from Pakistan and five other countries to spend two weeks outside these countries before entering the kingdom. From December 1 onwards, incoming air passengers from these countries will have to spend only five days in isolation in government-approved accommodations. These quarantine requirements will apply to all travellers, including those fully vaccinated. The step has presumably been taken to ensure full protection to locals as well as expatriates from Covid-19, which has re-emerged in some European countries and Australia.

The Saudi government’s decision has come as a huge relief for a large number of Pakistanis who were facing difficulties in travelling to the kingdom for performing Umrah, taking up jobs and meeting relatives. The visitors from Pakistan were hitherto reaching Saudi Arabia mostly via UAE and Qatar — and that too after spending two weeks there, which is both cost- and time-intensive. Moreover, due to the coronavirus restrictions, the Pakistani expats in Saudi Arabia were also avoiding travelling to their homeland given the quarantine hassles on the return journey to the kingdom.

The Saudi authorities had started imposing coronavirus restrictions from late March 2020 after cases of Covid-19 began increasing. Gradually, partial and complete lockdowns as well as curfews were imposed and people were told to maintain social distancing. Only 1,000 permanent residents of the country were allowed to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in 2020 as a preventive measure to stop the dreaded virus from spreading. In the same manner, the restrictions have been lifted in stages, including those affecting the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet (PBUH) Mosque in Medina. All these measures were aimed at protection of permanent residents, pilgrims from other countries as well as foreign guest workers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2021.

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