Pakistan’s envoy to Saudi all praise for Road to Makkah initiative

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Raja Ali Ejaz hailed the implementation of Saudi Arabia’s Road to Makkah project which aims to facilitate pilgrims traveling to the country for Hajj this year.
A statement released by the Pakistani Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said that the program is one of several pioneering initiatives undertaken by the Kingdom in recent times.
“The program is being implemented for the first time in Pakistan and in a number of other countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Tunisia. Some 225,000 pilgrims are expected to benefit from this...” the statement added.
During his visit to Pakistan in February 2019 – on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had announced plans to include Pakistan in the project.
“The initiative aims at completing the Saudi immigration process of the intending Hajj pilgrims at specialized counters in Pakistan airports, and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, the pilgrims will just move out of the airports without the need of going through the process of immigration again,” the statement read.
Ambassador Ejaz said that Pakistan feels honored to be a part of the program which is aimed at facilitating the smooth and hassle-free movement of pilgrims upon their arrival in Saudi airports by reducing the time spent at immigration.
Earlier this week, a 51-member team from Saudi arrived in Pakistan to install the immigration clearance system at the Islamabad International Airport, with Hajj flights scheduled to begin from tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in a statement released on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi thanked the Kingdom for including Pakistan in the initiative, adding that the move will facilitate several pilgrims traveling from the country.

Pakistan’s envoy to Saudi all praise for Road to Makkah initiative