ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammad Yousaf will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to review Hajj arrangements, his office said, as 117,000 Pakistani pilgrims arrive in the kingdom ahead of the annual pilgrimage.
Pakistan is expected to send more than 179,000 pilgrims for Hajj this year. Of these, 119,000 will travel under the government scheme, while the remaining will be facilitated through private tour operators.
Pakistan kicked off its pre-Hajj flight operation on Apr. 18. Most Pakistani pilgrims this year are traveling under Saudi Arabia’s Route to Makkah Initiative, which allows travelers to complete immigration and customs procedures before departure from Pakistan.
“The federal minister for religious affairs will arrive in Saudi Arabia today to review Hajj arrangements,” the religious ministry said on Saturday.
“91,000 government-sponsored pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia through 362 Hajj flights,” it added. “An additional 26,000 pilgrims under the private Hajj scheme are also present in Saudi Arabia.”
It highlighted that more than 86,000 Pakistani pilgrims were in Makkah while 5,000 were in Madina.
The ministry said 106 flights will bring the remaining pilgrims to Saudi Arabia by May 21. It added that at least 416 buses were allocated for the traveling facilities of Pakistani pilgrims.
“Under the Pakistan Hajj Medical Mission, 367 doctors and medical staff are serving pilgrims,” it added.
Saudi Arabia’s Route to Makkah Initiative enables pilgrims to bypass arrival processing in Saudi Arabia and proceed directly to their accommodations in Makkah or Madinah. The initiative, previously available only in Islamabad and Karachi, was expanded to Lahore this year.
Last week, Pakistan’s national space agency said the new moon of ZilHajj 1447 AH was expected to be born on May 17, with 1st ZilHajj 1447 AH likely to fall on May 18.
