RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that security forces had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Makkah ahead of Haj which begins next week.

Crowd management is a major concern during the annual pilgrimage, which drew over 1.8m people last year, according to official figures.

Those turned away in recent days from the holy city, include 153,998 foreigners who travelled from abroad on tourist visas rather than the required Haj visas, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

In addition, Saudi authorities have rounded up 171,587 others who are based in Saudi Arabia but are not residents of Makkah and did not have Haj permits, SPA said.

The Haj, which begins on June 14, involves a series of rituals completed over several days in Makkah and its surroundings. Many seek to complete the rites through unofficial channels. Large crowds have proved hazardous in the past during the Haj, most recently in 2015 when a stampede during the “stoning the devil” ritual in Mina, near Makkah, killed up to 2,300 people in the deadliest-ever tragedy during the pilgrimage.

Fears of a repeat have spurred Saudi officials to crack down on off-the-books pilgrims. Over 1.3m registered pilgrims had arrived for Haj as of Saturday, Saudi authorities said.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...
Property valuation
Updated 31 Oct, 2024

Property valuation

Market valuation rates will not help boost tax revenues without plugging such loopholes in the system.
Hitting a wall
31 Oct, 2024

Hitting a wall

PAKISTAN still has a long way to go in defeating polio. Despite our decades-long fight against the debilitating...
Kurram violence
31 Oct, 2024

Kurram violence

DESPITE years of intermittent and bloody conflict in Kurram, the state has been unable to bring lasting peace to ...