The Kingdom has exempted them from having to register with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for two years. The requirement had created a problem for tour operators who were not actually travel agents and were not eligible for IATA registration.
Pakistani Religious Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who had just returned from a weeklong official visit to Saudi Arabia, announced the news in Islamabad.
Pakistan sends 160,000 Haj pilgrims each year, with government and private operators equally sharing the quota.
According to Fayyaz Siddiqi of Jeddah’s Hajeej Travel, which deals with Pakistani pilgrims, almost 80 percent of Pakistani Haj operators are not travel agents, making it difficult for the Saudi government to deal with them in accordance with international rules.
While in the Kingdom, Kazmi discussed the arrangements for Haj 2010 with relevant Saudi officials, including the head of the Establishment for South Asian Pilgrims Adnan Katib.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs will be responsible for Pakistanis coming to the Kingdom to perform Umrah this year, the Saudi Haj Ministry announced on Friday. All Saudi Umrah service-providing companies have been notified in this regard.
Adnan Hariri, acting director for Umrah companies at the Haj Ministry, said the Pakistani ministry had requested this responsibility in an official letter from its undersecretary. He asked Umrah companies to inform their agents and representatives in Pakistan of this new development.
