Pakistan biometric verification for Hajj pilgrims follows KSA directive

Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has asked intending pilgrims to visit Etimad offices for biometric verification of fingerprints at their scheduled time. (SPA photo)

• Saudi authorities take initiatives each year to help Hajj pilgrims and improve their experience
• Biometric verification of intending pilgrims is free of cost at 26 Etimad centers in Faisalabad, Multan, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkar, Sialkot and Rahim Yar Khan

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has made biometric verification mandatory for Hajj pilgrims to streamline the identification process in the Kingdom, APP reports.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has asked intending pilgrims to visit Etimad offices for biometric verification of fingerprints at their scheduled time and date and to bring original bank receipts, copies of Computerized National Identity Cards (CNIC) and passports before leaving for Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2018. 
The ministry’s press release said that biometric verification of pilgrims was continuing free of cost at 26 Etimad centers in Faisalabad, Multan, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore. Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkar, Sialkot and Rahim Yar Khan. 
Pilgrims under 6 years of age and above 80 years of age are exempted from biometric verification. The ministry has already issued a schedule for the biometric verification of intending pilgrims. Information is available from www.hajjinfo.org or via the ministry’s helplines (042) 111725425; [phone], [phone]-82, and through Hajji camps.
A biometric system for private Hajj pilgrims has been made mandatory. The process is intended to save time at Jeddah airport where pilgrims usually queue up to undergo the process, the ministry said. 
Once the verification is completed in Pakistan, pilgrims will only be required to have their passports stamped after entering the Kingdom.
Every year, Saudi authorities take various initiatives to help Hajj pilgrims and improve their experience.
The Kingdom has already inaugurated its dual-track light railway, connecting the three holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat, to prevent unnecessary congestion and make it easier for pilgrims to travel.
In the past, it has created several entry and exit points at the Jamarat bridge to prevent a stampede.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has informed intending pilgrims through phone calls and SMS about the need for biometric verification before submitting their passports for visa applications.