MUMBAI: To discourage potential extremists from using the pilgrimage route to join the violent jihadist movement of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, Alshaya Nasser Travels, one of the two Iraqi government-organised agencies that facilitate visa processing, has asked tour operators not to accept passports from applicants who are single, under 30 and unaccompanied by family members.
Although, Indias ministry of external affairs has clarified that it has not issued any such instructions to the tour operators, the decision and advisory has been issued unilaterally by the visa provider. It comes after four young men from Kalyan, a suburb of Mumbai in Maharashtra, all single and under 30, travelled to Iraq as pilgrims in May this year, disappeared and then joined the IS forces there.
Reports suggest that an executive of Alshaya Nasser Travels said, Had we put this condition earlier, the four Kalyan boys who used pilgrimage as a path to join the jihadist group could have been prevented. This is in the interest of tour operators, too, as disappearance of pilgrims during travel causes trouble for them as well. This will discourage those boys who are similarly influenced by jihadist ideology and may be planning to join the so-called holy war in future.
On May 23, the four young Indian men- Arif Majeed, Fahad Shaikh, Aman Tandel and Shaheem Tanki flew to Baghdad, ostensibly, to visit holy shrines as part of a group of 26 pilgrims. However, a few days later, they disappeared and joined the IS. One of them, Arif Majeed, has now returned and is currently being interrogated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).The four youths had used the services of Dongri-based tour operator Ajmeri Tours to reach Iraq.
While the owner of Ajmeri Tours refused to comment, claiming he had been advised by the authorities to not speak to the media, other tour operators concurred that the new advisory was necessary.Our business may get hit a little as many of the pilgrims used to be single and under 30. But in the changed circumstances, it seems necessary. Though tour operators only arrange pilgrimage for those who have valid travel documents, they get harassed if any untoward incident takes place during travel, said Mohammed Umar of A Q International Tours and Travels, which has also received the advisory.Umar added that after the disappearance of the youths during the course of the journey, tour operators have started conducting counselling sessions about precautions pilgrims must take during travel. We tell them to always remain with the group and not decide to visit sites on their own, he said. The Kalyan youths had reportedly told their tour operator they wanted to shop but did not return from their shopping spree.Approximately 25,000 to 30,000 Indian pilgrims visit Iraq annually. While most of them visit Karbala and Najaf, many others travel to Baghdad and a few other places, too. An official from Faiz-e-Hussaini, which facilitates visas of Bohra pilgrims, said they will discuss whether they should issue a similar advisory.
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