ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs on Saturday said that Saudi Arabia had reversed its decision to set the minimum age for Haj pilgrims at 15.

Earlier in the day, the ministry, in a letter, had said that Saudi Arabia had set the minimum age for pilgrims at 15. It had said that the restrictions would be effective from 12am on May 3, 2026 (Monday).

“The government of Saudi Arabia has assured that all affected pilgrims will receive a full refund of the deposited amount,” the ministry had assured the public. Subsequently, in a statement reiterating the new directives, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) had said, “No pilgrim under the age of 15 years will be allowed to board Hajj flights, and such visas shall be treated as cancelled under this policy.”

However, hours later, the religious affairs ministry issued a new letter to officials, which stated the kingdom had “reversed its decision regarding the under-15-year age restriction for Haj”. It said that its previous instructions “may be deemed withdrawn”.

“The previous policy — allowing children above 12 years — is now back in effect. However, the visas that were rejected under the 15-year restriction will need to be re-processed,” it said.

Subsequently, the PAA also issued a statement reiterating the same. “Children aged 12 and above have been allowed to perform Haj again,” it said.

“Visas that were rejected under the 15-year age restriction will be reprocessed,” the PAA said.

The inaugural Haj flight for 2026 under the Route to Makkah initiative departed on April 19.

This year, the Road to Makkah project has been expanded to Lahore, in addition to Karachi and Islamabad, and is expected to benefit over 95,000 pilgrims, Radio Pakistan reported earlier.