Pakistan has announced new restrictions on pilgrimage travel to Iraq, barring men under the age of 50 from obtaining visas if they are traveling alone.
The move, officials said, follows repeated concerns from Iraqi authorities about Pakistani pilgrims disappearing after arrival.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs confirmed the policy shift on Wednesday, noting that younger men will now only be granted pilgrimage visas if they apply alongside their families.
Ministry spokesperson Umar Butt said the decision was made on the recommendation of Iraqi authorities, who have reported a rise in illegal immigration and cases of pilgrims vanishing after entering Iraq.
Diplomatic sources revealed that Baghdad had formally conveyed its concerns to Pakistan’s Foreign Office earlier this month. After reviewing the matter, the Foreign Office forwarded the guidance to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which issued an official circular on September 15.
Officials said the restrictions were prompted by a troubling trend: Pakistanis traveling to Iraq under the pretext of pilgrimage but then disappearing, with some taking up illegal labor or even resorting to begging.
The scale of the problem was shared by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, who disclosed just days earlier that around 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims who traveled to Iran, Iraq, and Syria remain unaccounted for, with no official record of their whereabouts.
He added that the governments of these countries had repeatedly raised concerns with Islamabad, prompting Pakistan to introduce a “pilgrim group system” aimed at improving monitoring and registration of Zaireen (pilgrims).
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