Bahrain to cut Haj pilgrims number

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)  Bahrain will deal with the reduction in the quota of its Haj pilgrims from 4,625 to 3,700 for this year's Haj by reducing the number of administrators of Haj caravans by 50 per cent. The number of non-Bahraini pilgrims will also be reduced by 300. Saudi Arabia has announced plans to reduce the number of foreign pilgrims by 20 per cent and domestic by 50 per cent in view of the expansion work at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. Head of Haj and Omra Affairs, Shaikh Abdulnasser Ibrahim, told a Press conference on Sunday that there would also be a reduction in the number of non-Bahraini pilgrims under Bahrain Haj mission from 1,300 to 1000.