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!