Restriction on Umrah

Saudi Arabia will not issue Umrah visas to individuals under 40 years of age
from a number of countries, including India and Pakistan, according to Adil
Balkhair, assistant deputy minister for Umrah affairs.
Source

Apparently, this has been going on since 2 weeks now and Saudi government was faced with a very strong opposition to their rulings. As it goes, Rasheed Abou-Alsamh points out, "The Umrah visa loophole was so well-known and used by people seeking jobs in Saudi Arabia, that many people were using it as a virtual merry-go-round mechanism to keep coming back to the country every time they were deported."

Now, my question is that is it the only way to deal with it? Wouldn't usage of technology be helpful in trying to improve the system? I have been living in Saudi Arabia for over 18 years now as an expatriate and it is true that quite a few of the visitors actually take advantage of this system but at the same time, I don't think this is the best way of do it. It's just like the ruling in a few Saudi shopping malls all around the kingdom, or park for that matter, when a single male or even a group of single males are not allowed to enter the mall unless accompanied by their respective families or ANY families (they can be hired for all they care but there has to be one). Of course, it does not mean that people don't get away;) but it sounds totally absurd to me. Like us single males can never do grocery/shopping or eat in a mall right? All the reasons we are there for is to oogle.

This new ruling seems to underline that issue again. For example, even though Pakistan has got the all-so-modern-computer-accessible-swiping passports, the news of Religion column being included is yet to reach Saudi authorities and due to that, they will not issue the new ones to Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia, not only creating difficulties for themselves but Pakistanis as well who need to travel to other countries and go through a little lengthy procedures because of that.

After talking to a friend, it is being said that, at least for Pakistanis, there has been an agreement. If any overstayer Pakistani is sent back, s/he will be serving 6 months in jail upon his/her return but all Pakistanis, be it under 40 or over 40, will be allowed to perform Umrah/Hajj regardless of the restriction. Let's see what follows!

Rafa does it again!

Rafael Nadal did it what was called a tailored final match when world no. 1 faced world no. 2. According to my expectations, Nadal did it; not only defeding his Roalnd Garros crown by a victory with a 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6(4) victory over top-ranked Roger Federer in the final, he also recorded his 60th straight win on clay courts. He's a F-R-E-A-K, I tell you that.

Federer has lost only four of the 48 matches he has played so far in 2006. And who was the man to beat him on all four occasions? Rafael Nadal, of course! It's amazing how this 20 year old Spaniard has been playing with facts and figures that promise a true champion even over Federer in future. Cheers, and let's wait till Wimbledon where some more action waits for us. I am betting on Federer though;)

p.s. I actually slept only for three hours after staying up for 30 hours just to watch this match and then went back to bed right after the match :p

Happy Graduation

To all my highschool friends, Happy Graduation. May you have a good college life and even better future (of course for those who are actually going to college) Good Luck.

Friends!!!

Friday was a chilling day. My friend picked me up in the morning and we basically chilled out the whole day. We planned to watch X-men 3 but due to weird timings at the theatre, we ended up watching "The Break Up". It wasn't that good, imho. Although beginning was alright, but then it just went downhill kinda from there on.

Other than that, I had fun time with and it was good to have a day off. I feel blessed to have friends like Manan who can find enough time to pick me up and get me around. It was a really good lunch too by the way;)

Adios

Bus Ride!

While riding a public bus to the airport on Thursday through Detroit, these observations were recorded by your highness.

Before riding a bus, people just staring at me at the bus stop for I was walking with a starbucks in my hand. Made me wonder and ponder now why would they be staring.

After getting on the bus, random people getting on and asking if I've ever been to the airport. Some of them excited to receive their loved ones. Some of them just planning to stop short of the airport at their workplaces. Some of them just wanted to get somewhere; those were the people without homes.

During the bus ride, I noticed a Rolex billboard right across a neighborhood which comprised of houses no bigger than an average high school classrooms. Witnessed two women and one man trying to give a car wash to a scruffed 89' Caprice Classic.

By the time I got to the airport, there was no one in the bus except me. So much for my observations huh? It took more than an hour and I felt like I saw the real Detroit for the first time.