Okaz/Saudi Gazette RIYADH — No one with suspicious backgrounds will be allowed to enter the Kingdom during the annual Haj pilgrimage, according to the country's top immigration official. "Saudi diplomatic and consular missions abroad conduct thorough background checks while granting Haj visas and scrutinize all applicants with extreme care," Director of Passports Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Yahya said. In addition, all the Kingdom's entry points have mechanisms in place to carefully filter all arriving pilgrims and stop the entry of anyone who raises suspicion, Al-Yahya added. The passport chief made the remarks in Riyadh on Tuesday at the launch of the new departure lounge of foreign airlines at King Khaled International Airport. "We are fully prepared to receive the guests of God and complete their passport procedures very quickly at all air, sea and land inlets," he said. Al-Yahya said the Passport Department has made consummate arrangements for completing travel formalities for arriving and departing pilgrims and has deployed teams to assist pilgrims with special needs in order to avoid any delay in completing arrival or departure formalities. "We have plans to automate immigration procedures by 100 percent in the near future. The entry and exit of pilgrims may be recorded by simply verifying biometric data using scanners. The travelers may not need passport verifications any longer," he said. Weather bulletins Chairman of the General Authority of Meteorology and Environment Abdulaziz Al-Jasser on Wednesday launched a special electronic gate of the presidency to provide comprehensive and updated weather reports around the clock in Makkah, Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, Madinah and Jeddah. "The gate will provide weather forecasts for 10 days and will give updated reports 24 hours," he said. Jasser also said the authority has a comprehensive program for the environmental inspection in the pilgrims' accommodations, hospitals, health centers and other facilities to avoid any negative environmental aspect. Yemeni pilgrims On the other hand, 50 Yemeni pilgrims arrived in Makkah and were welcomed by the officials of the Tawafa Establishment for Arab Pilgrims. As many as 2,500 Yemeni pilgrims have already crossed the Wadiaa border post and entered the Kingdom. About 19,000 pilgrims are expected to come from Yemen. However, Yemeni Minister of Endowments and Religious Guidance Fouad Omar Sheikh Abu Bakr, who is the chairman of the Yemeni Haj mission, said the Houthi rebels prevented the pilgrims in Sanaa to go out of the capital city. He also said the Houthis prevented about 350 employees assigned to serve the pilgrims from traveling by confiscating their passports. Meanwhile, a number of Iranians have arrived from the US, Canada, Australia Europe and other countries to perform the Haj. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Haj and Umrah, Hussain Al-Sharif said well-equipped tents have been prepared for them in Mina. Iran has prevented more than 63,000 of its citizens from performing Haj this year by refusing to sign the agreement for making arrangements for them.
