ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (INP): On request of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Saudi government has agreed to waive 2,000 riyals tax imposed on Pakistanis performing Umrah every year.

According to a media reports, Premier Imran Khan, during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, had requested Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud to abolish the fee.

The development was shared by the Religious Ministry with the Senate Committee which met here to discuss the problems faced by Pakistanis while performing Hajj and Umrah.

[timed-content-server show="10/18/2018 01:00 Asia/Karachi"]Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri presiding the meeting has said that people had been complaining about the imposition of 2,000 riyals tax on pilgrims performing more than one Umrah within two years. On this, Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Muhammad Mushtaq informed the panel that Saudi authorities wanted to discourage repeated Umrah by a few people and that the levy was charged on everyone and not discriminatory towards Pakistanis. However, this fee was abolished on the request of Egypt and Turkey, the official added. The prime minister, he said, took up the matter with Saudi authorities and they agreed to waive it off and it was just a matter of time when they notify the policy. The Senate body also informed that the ministry was exploring the option of having open sky policy to airlift Government Scheme hujjaj to Saudi Arabia through open airline tendering. The secretary said currently the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has allowed only four airlines including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Shaheen Airlines, Air Blue and Saudi Arabian Airlines to airlift the pilgrims going to perform Hajj. INP/SB[/timed-content-server]