ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has booked hotels near the Prophet’s Mosque for its pilgrims arriving in Madinah to perform the Hajj, the religious affairs ministry said on Saturday.
Out of Pakistan’s this year’s quota of 81,132, around 8,500 pilgrims have already reached Saudi Arabia since the start of special Hajj flights from the South Asian country on June 6.
“Nineteen hotels in Madinah have been acquired by the government for our Hajj pilgrims,” Religious Affairs Ministry spokesperson Muhammad Umer Butt told Arab News. “All of them are located within 300 meters of Masjid-e-Nabi.”
Masjid An-Nabawi, known in English as the Prophet’s Mosque, is the second largest mosque and second holiest site in Islam, after Masjid Al-Haram, the Great Mosque in Makkah.
“After their eight-day stay in Madinah is over, pilgrims will be shifted to Makkah in deluxe air-conditioned buses,” Butt said.
Umair Ali, a pilgrim who arrived in Madinah from Lahore praised the government’s arrangements.
“We have been allotted great rooms at our hotels and the food being given to us is of an excellent quality,” he said in a video message.
One of Islam’s five main pillars of faith, the Hajj was restricted over coronavirus fears and restriction to just 1,000 people residing in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Last year, the Kingdom limited the pilgrimage to 60,000 domestic participants, compared with the pre-pandemic 2.5 million.
This year, as it has already lifted most of its COVID curbs, the Kingdom will welcome 1 million pilgrims from abroad.
All of them must be under the age of 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
