Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has sought the urgent intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs for the safe and early repatriation of over 600 Umrah pilgrims from Karnataka stranded in Makkah and Madina in Saudi Arabia, ANI reported. In a letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar dated October 23, 2026, Shivakumar said the pilgrims were stranded after return flights to Bengaluru and other parts of India were suspended amid the escalating security situation in the Middle East.

Source: ANI

Shivakumar wrote that the Karnataka State Haj Committee chairman and his team, who recently visited the holy cities, reported that several pilgrims faced severe hardship, had exhausted their financial resources and were struggling for food and accommodation. Hotels were asking pilgrims to vacate rooms, leaving elderly persons, women and children particularly vulnerable, he said, adding that help from voluntary organisations was not sufficient for all those affected. He asked the Ministry to have the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah coordinate with Saudi authorities and airlines, facilitate special flights where necessary, and ensure interim assistance until the pilgrims return.

Source: ANI

Omar Abdullah offers Jammu and Kashmir budget help

In Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday his government was prepared to use its own budget to bring back stranded Kashmiri Umrah pilgrims if the MEA was unable to provide financial assistance or arrange their return, JKNS reported. Speaking to reporters, Abdullah said people from several states were stuck in Saudi Arabia after flight cancellations, and that the main difficulty was not a complete suspension of flights but a sharp rise in airfares, which made new bookings unaffordable for those who had travelled on budget airlines. “If our people are stuck, if the Ministry of External Affairs does not have the budget to bring them back or to help them in booking their tickets, then we will use our budget to bring them back,” he said.

Source: JKNS via JKAdWorld

At least 34 Kashmiri pilgrims have been stranded after their return flights were cancelled, with several struggling to meet expenses for accommodation, food and medicines, the reports said. They were scheduled to return on October 13. According to an updated schedule shared by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, IndiGo flights to and from Riyadh will remain cancelled until October 31, 2026, while services connecting Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah will remain cancelled until October 27, the Jammu News Portal reported. Some passengers have returned through indirect routes, but the stranded pilgrims said the high cost of those alternatives was beyond the means of many in the group.

Source: Jammu News Portal