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Kalyan youth who fought for ISIS returns, being grilled

MUMBAI: Are you single, male, Muslim and under 30? If yes, then you should not apply for a pilgrimage visa to strife-torn Iraq. Alshaya Nasser Travels , one of the two Iraqi government-organized 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 the jihadist outfit ISIS there.The ministry of external affairs has said that it has not issued any such instructions to the tour operators.On May 23, the four—Arif Majeed, Fahad Shaikh, Aman Tandel and Shahim Tanki—part of a group of 26 pilgrims, flew to Baghdad to visit holy shrines. A few days later, they disappeared and joined the ISIS. One of them, Arif Majeed , has returned and is currently being interrogated by the National Investigation Agency. "Had we put this condition earlier, the four Kalyan 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 and may be planning to join the so-called holy war in future," said an executive of Alshaya Nasser Travels.Nab miscreants who radicalized sons, say familiesThe four youths used the services of Dongri-based tour operator Ajmeri Tours and travelled in a group of 26 to Iraq on May 23. While Ajmeri Tours' owner refused to comment as he said the authorities had advised him against speaking to the media, other tour operators concurred that 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 tour 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 A Q 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. "It is good that single, under-30 men are not allowed to travel unless accompanied by their family members. This will prevent potential extremists from using the pilgrimage route to join a violent movement," said Yusuf Ahmed of Al-Khalid Tours, another tour operator.An official from Faiz-e-Hussaini, which facilitates visas of Bohra pilgrims, said they will discuss whether they should issue a similar advisory.