ISLAMABAD: Eight Hajj flights will transport 1,710 pilgrims from Pakistan to Madinah today, Wednesday, Muhammad Umar Butt, a spokesperson for the religious affairs ministry, said.
Saudi Arabia has allowed up to one million people to join the Hajj pilgrimage this year, inviting pilgrims from foreign countries for the first time after two years of COVID-19 restrictions saw the annual pilgrimage limited to residents of the kingdom.
Pilgrims this year must be under the age of 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Pakistani pilgrims are availing the Makkah route initiative this year, which allows all immigration requirements to be facilitated at the airport of origin.
“Today, on Wednesday, 1,710 pilgrims will be transported to Madinah via eight Hajj flights,” Butt said, confirming that four flights from Islamabad and one each from Karachi, Multan, Lahore and Quetta would depart for Saudi Arabia.
The first Hajj flight to the kingdom left Islamabad airport on Monday with 319 pilgrims on board. In total, 3,919 Pakistani pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from Pakistan so far.
Butt said 1,330 more pilgrims would leave for Saudi Arabia through five Hajj flights on Thursday, and the Hajj flight operation—comprising 106 flights in total—will conclude on June 30.
Butt said pilgrims who were arriving from far-flung areas in Pakistan could stay in Hajj camps set up by the government. “Vaccines, tickets, visas, identity lockets and passports are being provided at Hajj camps,” the spokesperson said.
He said volunteers have been deployed at Makkah, Madinah and other airports in Saudi Arabia to facilitate pilgrims, adding that the Pakistan Medical Commission had set up hospitals and dispensaries at Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah to facilitate pilgrims.
Butt said police, Rescue 1122 and employees of civil institutions were arranging for the pilgrims’ food, transport and lodging in Saudi Arabia.
“All welfare staff sent by the Ministry of Religious Affairs comprises of government employees,” said Butt.
Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, with 32,000 people using a government scheme and 48,000 traveling through private operators.
