JEDDAH, 11 February — Saudi authorities will start issuing visas today to an estimated 15,000 Afghans intending to perform Haj this year, according to Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali Aseery.
The visas will be stamped by the first Saudi diplomatic mission to assume duty in Kabul after the Kingdom cut ties with Taleban last October in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Aseery’s statement came after hundreds of angry Afghans gathered in front of the office of Ariana, the country’s national airline in Kabul protesting the delay in their journey to Makkah.
Speaking to Arab News, Aseery said coordination had been made between the Haj ministries of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan to arrange the Haj of some 15,000 Afghans.
“We have been waiting 25 days for the Saudis to arrive,” the managing director of Ariana, Rahullah Aman, told AFP. “We have only three days left,” he said. “I have to transport 15,000 people to Saudi Arabia in that time. It is a hopeless task,” he said.
According to Aman, the Saudi officials had arrived in Pakistan with the visas. “I have a plane ready to take off as soon as we get clearance so that we can fetch them from Islamabad, but we are still waiting for the authorities there to give the go-ahead,” he said.
Should the officials manage to get to Kabul by today and start issuing visas “at a rate of 1,000 an hour”, it may be possible to get most of the pilgrims to Jeddah before the authorities close the airport late Wednesday, Aman said.
At the official pilgrimage office in Kabul, officials were preparing the passports of all those who have registered for the Haj. “We have 15,000 passports here,” said one official. “As soon as the Saudis arrive, we will hand them over for the issuing of visas.” He said more women than men had registered for this year’s pilgrimage. The Afghans blamed not only the Saudi officials but also those of the interim administration for the mix-up. “Karzai did not do enough for us,” one said, referring to the interim leader.
Another pilgrim, Muraf Sherzada, 32, also blamed Karzai. “This is a very important religious matter. He should have done more to make sure the Saudis got here earlier,” Sherzada said. “Our only hope is that the Saudis allow Afghans to arrive after the cut-off date,” said a man who gave his name as Doctor Farid and who said his mother and brother hoped to make the Haj.
