JEDDAH, 12 June 2003 — The spread of SARS in some Asian countries had not affected the traffic of Umrah pilgrims to the Kingdom, according to Haj Minister Iyad Madani. He said he expected more than three million Umrah pilgrims this year. The minister told Arab News that about 800,000 Egyptian pilgrims would start arriving for Umrah within the next two weeks. Five countries including Pakistan and Egypt stopped Umrah package trips in protest against an SR3,000 guarantee imposed by the Haj Ministry on each pilgrim from these countries.
Madani said the ministry took the action as part of the government’s efforts to eliminate the phenomenon of overstaying pilgrims. He said the number of overstayers from the five countries exceeded 20 percent. “The guarantee is imposed on Umrah operators in these countries,” he added.
