Page 439 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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1951. In 1951 Pakistan pilgrims who came to Bahrain in transit to Saudi Arabia began to
present a problem to the Health and Municipal Authorities. Most of them were old and all
professed to be penniless. They were accommodated in mosques and in a building which was
originally intended to be an orphanage but as no orphans were forthcoming, it was never used
for this purpose. Their insanitary habits and practice of begging caused much trouble to the
authorities as they often remained in the country for many weeks waiting for transport to
Karachi.

1955. In 1955 the Government began to issue residence permits, available for one year,
renewable, to foreigners under Bahrain jurisdiction. During the year almost 8,000 permits
were issued to Persians, Omanis, Trucial State Arabs, Yemenis, Qataris and Kuwaitis. Subjects
of Saudi Arabia were not required to possess residence permits as Bahrain nationals were V
permitted to live in Saudi Arabia without permits. Other foreigners were issued with resident
permits by the British authorities. !

PASSPORT DEPARTMENT, 1956
Report by Mr. Kadhim A1 Asfur, Passport Officer.

Revenue. The total revenue for 1956 was Rs. 75,349, derived from the following sources :
Travel Passes .. Rs. 20,297
Book Passports 10.455
Entries 9,046
Renewals 8,785
Miscellaneous forms 5,005
Residence Permits 12.455
Revenue Stamps 2,930
Landings 1,232
Other items .. 5,144

Pilgrims. During the year, 2,106 pilgrims obtained passports and made the journey to
Mecca—these included 260 Persians and other Gulf States subjects as against 2,073 pilgrims in
1955. Most of the pilgrims were villagers and people of the labouring classes. Ali Dastiti, a
travel agent for pilgrims was allowed to bring 80 pilgrims from Persia in order that they could
proceed to Mecca via Bahrain ; facilities were granted to Persian Merchants who bring livestock
and foodstuffs to Bahrain from the south Persian coast. Over 300 Pakistani pilgrims came to
Bahrain on their way to and from Saudi Arabia and about 700 Pakistani pilgrims, all apparently
destitute, were deported from Saudi Arabia in dhows at the end of the pilgrim season. They
remained some time in Bahrain becoming a public nuisance owing to their disregard for cleanli­
ness, until finally they were shipped back to Karachi. While in Bahrain they occupied the
Juma mosque, and the land around it, and a building which was put up many years ago, by
public subscription, as an orphanage but which was never used for this purpose. Over 4,000
Shia pilgrims visited the holy shrines of Iraq and Persia. Many Bahrain Arabs who used to
spend the summer in the Lebanon went to Egypt instead, owing to the high prices in Beirut and
the mountain resorts.

Persian Divers. During the diving season over 600 Persian divers were allowed to land on
the personal security of the Bahrain nakhudas who employed them. After the diving season
they all returned to Persia.
Free passes were issued to 1,510 Shaikhs and their followers and to students. Several
large parties of Shaikhs went on hunting expeditions to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.