DOHA – Qatar has urged Saudi Arabia to remove “obstacles and restrictions”for its residents wishing to perform the hajj pilgrimage, as the two Gulfneighbours remain locked in a bitter diplomatic dispute.
The call late Thursday follows Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest citiesof Mecca and Medina, announcing electronic registration for Qatar residentsto allow them to perform the Umrah or minor pilgrimage during the holymonth of Ramadan.
Qataris and foreign residents of the Gulf state would then be allowed toland at Jeddah or Medina airports, said a statement carried by the officialSaudi Press Agency on Tuesday.
But Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee said the new measure was”nominal” and insufficient, as air travel remained blocked and the onlyborder post has been shut for almost two years.
Its Ministry of Islamic Affairs, meanwhile, called on Saudi authorities “tolift all obstacles and restrictions imposed on Qatari citizens andresidents wishing to perform their religious rituals.”
The travel restrictions mean Qatari religious tour operators are unable totravel to Saudi Arabia to make the necessary arrangements for pilgrims,like other countries, the ministry said.
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The ministry also called for the removal of “discriminatory” measuresagainst Qataris and residents of the Gulf state.
Some 12,000 Qataris performed hajj in September 2016, but months laterSaudi Arabia and its allies cut ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade overits alleged support for radical Islamic groups.
A few dozen Qatari pilgrims have travelled independently to Saudi Arabiaover the past two years, when the Saudis briefly opened the only borderpost between the two countries for pilgrims. -APP/AFP
