Visa agency bids to stop ISIS 'recruits'

MUMBAI: Are you single, male, a Muslim and under 30? If yes, then you should not apply for a pilgrimage visa to strifetorn Iraq. Alshaya Nasser Travels, one of the two Iraqi government-authorized agencies (the other is Faiz-e-Hussaini) that facilitate visa processing, has asked tour operators not to accept passports from applicants who are single, under 30 and unaccompanied by family members. The advisory comes after four Kalyan youths, all single and under 30, used the pilgrimage route to travel to Iraq in May and join jihadist outfit ISIS there.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said there was no communication from the Indian foreign ministry to Iraqi authorities seeking tightening of visa regulations for Indians. On May 23, the four youths - Arif Majeed, Fahad Shaikh, Aman Tandel and Shahim Tanki -part of a group of 26 pilgrims, flew to Baghdad to visit shrines there. A few days later, they disappeared and joined ISIS. One of them, Arif Majeed, has returned and is being interrogated by the National Investigation Agency .

“Had we put this condition earlier, the four 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 ,“ said an executive of Alshaya Nasser Travels. The four youths who joined ISIS under the guise of going to pilgrimage in Iraq used the services of tour operator Ajmeri Tours.While Ajmeri Tours' owner refused to comment as he said the authorities had advised him against speaking to the media, other tour operators said 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 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 AQ International Tours and Travels, which has also received the advisory .

Umar added that after the disappearance of the youths during travel, tour operators have started holding a few 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.