Pakistan, Saudi Arabia sign agreement to solve Burmese Muslims’ passport crisis

 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have inked an agreement regarding the issuance of Pakistani passports to Burmese Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia.

The agreement was signed between Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and visiting Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Dr. Nasir Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Dawood. 

Since 2012, these Burmese have faced difficulties as their passports were not renewed, causing legal complications within the Kingdom; Pakistan had issued passports to as many as 2,25,000 Burmese in 2012 but they were not renewed. 

The families of these Muslims are in distress due to the fact that their passports were not renewed and not much attention was paid to the issue in the past on one pretext or the other. 

To address this issue, the agreement has now been signed to issue passports to these individuals and their children, so they can have legal status in Saudi Arabia. 

#السعودية و #باكستان توقعان اتفاقية تسمح بإصدار جوازات السفر الباكستانية للجالية البرماوية التي تعيش في السعودية، وفقا لصحيفة عكاظ. pic.twitter.com/kWvrbbPyj8

— العربية السعودية (@AlArabiya_KSA) May 18, 2023

In this regard, a bilateral committee consisting of representatives from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s interior ministry has been formed with the objective to expedite the issuance of necessary documents to Burmese Muslims.

The agreement was made during the visit of the Saudi official who landed in Pakistan for the ‘Road to Makkah’ project.

The initiative is part of Saudi Arabia’s Guests of God Service Program, which King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurated in 2019 under Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. The agreement is renewed every year with countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, and Bangladesh. 

As per the initiative, Hajj pilgrims are issued visas and provided other services, such as baggage facilities, at their respective countries’ airports. Not only that, the pilgrims move directly to buses to take them to their places of residence in Makkah and Madina while their luggage is delivered to them.

 The Saudi deputy interior minister was on a two-day visit to Pakistan to renew the 'Road to Makkah' agreement and meet political leaders as well as Army Chief. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said he has requested Saudi authorities to extend the Makkah Route Initiative to airports in Lahore and Karachi next year.