Owaisi Urges Centre to Bring Home 4,000 Indian Pilgrims Stranded in Saudi Arabia

Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday, October 22 urged the Centre to help bring home about 4,000 Indian pilgrims stranded in Makkah and Madina after flights to Saudi Arabia were disrupted over security concerns.

In a post on X, Owaisi asked the government to direct the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to allow airlines to operate flights on larger aircraft so the pilgrims can return. If that is not possible, he said, special flights should be arranged. He said the pilgrims had been left in the lurch by their travel agents and called for urgent intervention, along with immediate support for them in the meantime. He tagged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

The disruption follows attacks on Saudi airports that have been attributed to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. An Indian national was among two people killed, and two other Indians were injured, in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Wednesday night, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Responding on Thursday, the MEA said the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah were in touch with airlines and tour operators to ensure the early return of affected pilgrims. Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said about 3,000 stranded Umrah pilgrims had returned to India on available flights over the past week, and arrangements were being discussed for the remaining travellers. The Embassy and Consulate, with help from community volunteers, are providing welfare assistance, and 24x7 control rooms have been set up, the ministry added.

The source headline refers to Haj pilgrims, but the MEA statement and other reports describe them as Umrah pilgrims, so I used Umrah. I found no report yet of special flights being approved, so please verify before publishing.