Travel restrictions

This is to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to a serious issue. Last year, before the outbreak of Covid-19 in Pakistan, my family and I bought Umrah packages from a local travel agency in Sadiqabad. Three days before the flight, which was scheduled to take us to Makkah from the Karachi airport, the first coronavirus case was reported in the country. As a result, Saudi Arabia instantly stopped all international travel operations. We couldn’t visit the country to perform Umrah. It has been more than a year, and whenever we try to reach the travel agency, its representatives say that business has been so bad and that they have not received any refund from the relevant authorities because of which they cannot pay us back.

This is the story of hundreds of pilgrims who were about to go for Umrah in February 2020. There is no clarity by travel agencies, airlines, and even the government regarding the possible refund of money or the renewal of visa.

Zaheer Ud Din Baber

Sadiqabad