As the Qatar crisis enters its 75th day, it looks like the conflict is far from over. Amid the ongoing boycott, Saudi Arabia has now said that the country's airline has not been given permission to land in Doha to pick up Hajj pilgrims, even though the former had sought permission for the same days ago.
Last week, Saudi Arabia's King Salman had ordered the land border with Qatar to be reopened despite the conflict, so that Qatari pilgrims could travel to Hajj without any kind of inconvenience, reported the Gulf News. Since then, about 100 Hajj pilgrims have crossed over to the kingdom to travel to Hajj.
Not just that King Salman has also said that he would fly Qatari pilgrims on Saudi Airlines at his expense. However, the airline is yet to be granted permission to land in Doha, explained Saudi Arabia Airlines Director-General Saleh Al Jasser.
Saudi Arabia's move was lauded by many citizens as well as officials, who said that Qatari citizens were welcome in the country as "brothers." Saudi Arabia's decision also comes in stark contrast to what Qatar has been saying about the kingdom. The country, on more than one occasion, has called Saudi Arabia discriminatory and also said that it couldn't manage Hajj operations.
Strangely, Qatar's foreign minister too had appreciated Saudi Arabia for the decision, but it looks like the government doesn't share the same sentiment and refuses to open the country's airspace. However, Qatar has denied these allegations.
Meanwhile, Qatari royal Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al Thani met King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, to discuss Hajj pilgrimage last Wednesday, but Qatar's foreign minister has said that the two parties discussed Abdullah's personal properties in the kingdom and not Hajj.
However, Shaikh Abdullah later clarified that the two parties did discuss the pilgrims and how things can be facilitated for them. "With all due respect to Shaikh Mohammad, I did not present anything personal to the king. My aim was to ease matters for Qatari pilgrims. Visits by Qataris to their relatives in Saudi Arabia have been eased. Matters have also been eased for property owners," he wrote on Twitter.
He also said that he hopes things are sorted and the government soon allows Saudi planes to land in Doha, so that Qatari citizens can take the annual pilgrimage.
Qatar has been on the radar after seven Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties with it on charges of funding terrorism. Since the boycott, Qatar has announced several schemes for its citizens and tourists, which is being seen by many as its effort to appease the international community.
The support of the other nations is especially necessary for Qatar considering the fact that it is set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022. That itself has brought quite some bad name to Qatar as it has been accused of ill-treating its migrant workers readying venues for the mega show.
