Authorities in Kingdom believe Pakistani media organizations are spreading baseless allegations by the administration of Qatar The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan issued the statement on Friday ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has denied claims that Qatari nationals will be prevented from performing pilgrimage, assuring them they will not face any undue obstacles. The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan issued a statement on Friday that that said: “Since the first day the Kingdom decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar, (Saudi Arabia) confirmed its consideration toward the Qatari brothers and facilitated them in performing their pilgrimage. “Furthermore, the statement issued by the Qatari Embassy in Islamabad on Thursday, June 7, 2018, is only one of the desperate and open attempts to make the Kingdom responsible (for) Qatari citizens’ (inability) to enter the Kingdom for Umrah.” It also rejected media reports in Pakistan that claimed restrictions had been placed on Qataris performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia, and said that such stories were spreading baseless allegations made by the administration of Qatar. In August last year, Al Jazeera, a Doha-based news channel, claimed that Qataris would not be allowed to perform Hajj due to the country’s complex relations with Saudi Arabia. Prior to that, it had hinted that growing friction between the two Middle Eastern states could create problems for Qatari nationals who wanted to perform their pilgrimage this year. In June last year, Pakistan’s Express Tribune quoted Al Jazeera and another Qatar-based media organization, Al Sharq, as speculating about whether Saudi authorities had barred Qatari nationals from performing pilgrimage. Daily Times also published an AFP report, filed from Doha, that claimed the number of Qatari nationals visiting “Islam’s holiest sites” had declined due to “the increasingly bitter crisis between the Gulf neighbors.” Friday’s statement from the Saudi Embassy pointed out that “since the issuance of the statement of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Saudi Arabia has received a number of Qatari pilgrims who arrived at King Abdul Aziz International Airport and provided them with all services. “The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan advocates the media to investigate the accuracy and credibility [of such reports] instead of being dragged behind the malicious propaganda promoted by the Qatari authorities against the Kingdom.”