Tag: KSA

  • Saudi Arabia to allow one million Hajj pilgrims for 2022

    Saudi Arabia to allow one million Hajj pilgrims for 2022

    Saudi Arabia has increased the Hajj pilgrimage limit in the country to one million compared to last year’s 60,000 domestic pilgrims.

    To combat the coronavirus pandemic, attendance at the Islamic event was drastically reduced in the past two years due to travel restrictions.

    As per the latest notice, Pilgrims must be under the age of 65 and have received COVID-19 vaccinations that have been approved by the Saudi health ministry.

    All pilgrims must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report within three days (72 hours of departure time).

    The move intends to accommodate the greatest number of pilgrims to perform Hajj while retaining the Kingdom’s health improvements in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the ministry.

    Furthermore, the directives noted that the expansion will be based on the quotas decided for nations that will follow the Kingdom’s mandatory health recommendations.

    As per the official figures, 58,745 pilgrims performed Hajj in 2021. The number of Hajj pilgrims often surpassed the two million count before the Covid-19 outbreak.

  • ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    ‘We don’t look at Israel as an enemy’: Saudi Crown prince reveals in rare interview

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Israel a “potential ally” of Riyadh, in an interview with a United States (US) monthly magazine, The Atlantic.

    “But we have to solve some issues before we get to that,” he added.

    “We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together,” the prince said. Talking about the Palestine-Israel issue, he said that Riyadh hopes that the conflict between them is solved.

    Interestingly, the prince also opened up about Iran, he said, “They are neighbours. Neighbours forever. We cannot get rid of them, and they can’t get rid of us.”

    “Hopefully, we can reach a position that’s good for both countries and is going to create a brighter future for them and Iran,” he added.

    About the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, the prince said that he was unfairly blamed for it.

    “Why would I do it?” he asked, saying that accusations that he ordered the killing “hurt me a lot”. He claimed that he never read a Khashoggi article in his life.

    “In any case, if that’s the way we did things, Khashoggi would not even be among the top 1,000 people on the list,” added the prince.

    The Kingdom does not have diplomatic relations with Israel but the two countries are believed to have ties. In 2020, Israel’s then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s secret visit to Saudi Arabia raised speculations.

    Under Mohammed bin Salman, a series of progressive developments have been made in Saudi Arabia, women were allowed to drive for the first time in 2018 in the Kingdom.

    In 2020, two Gulf countries— Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates normalised ties with Israel.

  • Saudi Arabia allows women to live alone without male consent

    Saudi Arabia allows women to live alone without male consent

    Saudi Arabia has announced that Saudi women can now live on their own without the approval of their male guardians.

    Saudi Judicial authorities have revoked Paragraph B under article No. 169 of the “Law of Procedure before Sharia Courts”, reported Gulf News which has been replaced now. It states “An adult woman has the right to choose where to live.”. It is also included, under the law if a woman is imprisoned, she will not be handed over to her guardian after the expiry of her sentence.

    While speaking to a local newspaper, Saudi Attorney Naif Al-Mansi said, “Families can no longer file lawsuits against their daughters who choose to live alone.” Prior to this, under the old  “absenteeism” law, families were able to file a report with the police against the woman in case she disappears or choose to live independently.

    Read More- In a first, Saudi Arabia appoints women security guards at Grand Mosque.

    Under this law, last year, a Saudi woman Mariam Al Otaibi was detained because her family sued her for traveling alone. However, she won a historic ruling after the Saudi court passed a remarkable ruling that she had “the right to choose where to live”.

    This new amendment made after the passing of a law that allowed Saudi Arabia women over the age of 18 to change names on their ID cards without guardian approval. Moreover, in 2017, the Kingdom’s Head of State granted permission to women to drive putting an end to an old traditional practice.

    These developments are actually a part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030, formed five years ago to focus more on public sectors.

  • Crown Prince MBS coming to Pakistan after Eid

    Crown Prince MBS coming to Pakistan after Eid

    Prime Minister Imran Khan was warmly welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his three-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Crown Prince is expected to visit Pakistan after Eid.

    In a joint statement issued by Riyadh and Islamabad, the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of the ties between the two countries. All facets of bilateral cooperation, regional and international issues of mutual interest were discussed by the two. Matters of strengthening and enhancing the economy and trade in light of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision and Pakistan’s development priorities emanating from a shift from geo-politics to geo-economics were also highlighted.

    Issues pertaining to the Islamic world were also discussed. The two leaders stressed the need for concerted efforts by the Muslim countries to confront extremism and violence, reject sectarianism, and strive to achieve international peace and security.

    The two sides reaffirmed their full support for all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, especially, their right to self-determination and establishment of their independent state, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant UN resolutions

    PM praised the role of Saudi Arabia for the resolution of crisis in Yemen, which aims at achieving peace and security in Yemen as it will result in prosperity and development of the region and its people.

    The Crown Prince acknowledged Pakistan’s facilitative role in the Afghan peace process. The two leaders agreed to continue mutual consultations on the Afghan peace process.

    The recent understanding reached between the military authorities of Pakistan and India regarding ceasefire at the Line of Control (LoC) was welcomed by the Crown Prince. The two sides emphasised the importance of dialogue between Pakistan and India to resolve issues, especially Jammu and Kashmir dispute, to ensure peace and stability in the region.

    Premier congratulated the Saudi government for successfully organising and holding the G20 summit meetings and the positive decisions that resulted from it in economic, developmental, environmental, health, energy and other fields.

    Acknowledging the leading role of the Kingdom in addressing international issues, in particular the challenge posed by climate change, the two leaders welcomed each other’s efforts towards the cause.

    PM Imran appreciated the efforts of the Kingdom and its leadership in serving the Two Holy Mosques, their pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors despite the challenges posed by the Corona pandemic. He expressed gratitude and offered his best wishes. The Saudi Crown Prince warmly reciprocated with best wishes for health and wellbeing of the Prime Minister, and prayers for the progress and prosperity of the brotherly people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

  • Saudi Arabia to introduce Hindi scripture, yoga in school curriculum

    Saudi Arabia is planning to add two Hindu scriptures Ramayana and Mahabharata to the national school curriculum.

    As per details, the objective is to revamp the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) image according to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman’s (MBS) Vision 2030.

    Crown prince MBS wants to make Saudi Arabia culturally and religiously more dynamic and tolerant to fit in the global economy and to reduce its dependency on oil. It is an imperative initiative that is much needed to bring foreign investment to Saudi Arabia.

    The report further stated that other cultural elements like yoga and Ayurveda will also be included in the school curriculum.

    Besides literature from Hinduism, the curriculum will now involve the history and culture of other countries as well. The government has taken majors steps to overhaul the orthodoxy and bring cultural innovation after MBS took control in KSA.

    A Saudi yogi, Nouf Almarwaai even tweeted screenshots of her son’s social studies exam with questions about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Hindu epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. She is also dubbed Saudi’s first Yogiacharya and has even been awarded a Padma Shri by India.

  • ‘Pakistan, the friend in need’: Millions of COVID-19 drugs to be exported to US, UK, KSA, others

    ‘Pakistan, the friend in need’: Millions of COVID-19 drugs to be exported to US, UK, KSA, others

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has announced the federal cabinet’s decision to send chloroquine tablets — an anti-malarial medicine that some studies found has a strong antiviral effect on COVID-19 — to “friendly nations” to help them in their time of need.

    Addressing a press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting, she said that one million chloroquine tablets will be sent to Saudi Arabia and the United States each, 500,000 to Turkey and Italy each, five million to the United Kingdom, 700,000 to Kazakhstan and 300,000 to Qatar.

    Firdous revealed that leaders of some countries had called Prime Minister Imran Khan and expressed a desire to import the tablets from Pakistan following some encouraging results in treating the coronavirus.

    “Pakistan has always been asking these countries for something or the other. So, for the sake of humanity and to improve Pakistan’s credibility and face value, this is a good chance to help them in this time of need,” she said.

    She also said that Pakistan had some 40 million tablets in stock and possessed the raw material to make even more.