Saudi Arabia has reversed its decision to impose a minimum age limit of 15 years for Hajj pilgrims. The new policy, which was announced earlier, stated that pilgrims under the age of 15 would not be allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. However, just a few hours later, the decision was withdrawn, and the previous policy of allowing pilgrims aged 12 and above to perform Hajj was reinstated.
According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Airport Authority (PIA), the new Saudi policy would have prohibited pilgrims under the age of 15 from traveling to Saudi Arabia from May 3, 2026, onwards. The statement also mentioned that all Hajj visas issued to pilgrims under the age of 15 would be canceled.
The PIA statement further added that all affected pilgrims would be entitled to a full refund of their Hajj package. The Saudi immigration authorities also instructed all airports to prevent pilgrims under the age of 15 from boarding Hajj flights.
However, just a few hours later, the PIA issued another statement, stating that Saudi Arabia had withdrawn its decision to impose a minimum age limit of 15 years for Hajj pilgrims. The previous policy of allowing pilgrims aged 12 and above to perform Hajj has been reinstated.
According to the PIA, the canceled visas of pilgrims under the age of 15 would be re-processed. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also announced that it would resume its normal flight operations.
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