ISLAMABAD: More than 55,700 Pakistani pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage, said the Pakistani religious affairs ministry on Thursday, since the country launch a special flight operation on June 6.
Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims for Hajj this year. Nearly 33,000 of them will benefit from a government scheme while the rest will be facilitated by private operators.
“Over 55,700 Hajj pilgrims have so far reached Hijaz-e-Muqaddas to perform the Hajj rituals from Pakistan including 33,000 pilgrims under the government and 22,000 under private Hajj Scheme,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry's media cell in Makkah, the pre-Hajj flight operation will end on July 3 under the government scheme.
A large number of Pakistani pilgrims are availing the Makkah Route initiative this year which has allowed them to fulfil all immigration requirements at their airports of origin.
The initiative saves pilgrims several hours upon reaching the kingdom since they can just enter the country, having already gone through immigration at home.
Saudi Arabia will let up to one million people join the Hajj pilgrimage this year, expanding it to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of tight COVID-19 restrictions.
However, pilgrims this year must be under the age of 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
