You are here

  • Home
  • 2,501 Pakistani pilgrims arrive in Madinah in first two days of pre-Hajj flight operation

2,501 Pakistani pilgrims arrive in Madinah in first two days of pre-Hajj flight operation

Short Url

https://arab.news/m55zn

Updated 10 May 2024
Follow

2,501 Pakistani pilgrims arrive in Madinah in first two days of pre-Hajj flight operation

2,501 Pakistani pilgrims arrive in Madinah in first two days of pre-Hajj flight operation
  • Pakistan on Thursday launched its pre-Hajj flight operation which will continue till June 9
  • Pakistan envoy urges Hajj pilgrims to demonstrate discipline during stay in Saudi Arabia
Updated 10 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan
Follow

ISLAMABAD: A total of 2,501 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Madinah in the first two days of Pakistan’s pre-Hajj flight operation, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said on Friday.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime, if they are financially and physically able.
Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims this year, according to the Pakistani religious affairs ministry. Of them, 63,805 pilgrims will be performing the pilgrimage under the government scheme, while the rest would be accommodated by private tour operators.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed Farooq and Hajj Director-General Abdul Wahab Soomro warmly welcomed Pakistani pilgrims upon arrival in the holy city of Madinah.
“Pakistani Hajj pilgrims along with other pilgrims started arriving at the Prophet’s Mosque to offer Friday prayers,” a spokesperson for the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said.
“Due to the increasing rush, the roof of the Prophet’s Mosque was also opened for worshippers.”
Welcoming the Pakistani pilgrims on Friday morning, Ambassador Farooq urged them to demonstrate discipline during their stay in Saudi Arabia and thanked the Kingdom for ensuring “best” arrangements for the devotees.
“Pilgrims should demonstrate best discipline to increase the prestige of the country,” the Pakistani religious affairs ministry quoted the ambassador as saying.
“We are grateful to the Saudi government for making the best arrangements for Hajj pilgrims.”
Soomro said the pre-Hajj flight operation was ongoing successfully and feedback about different facilities would be sought from pilgrims through the Pak Hajj app.
This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14 till June 19.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Ties Hajj 2024 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims

SCO security chief in Pakistan as Indian, Pakistani forces continue to exchange fire in Kashmir

SCO security chief in Pakistan as Indian, Pakistani forces continue to exchange fire in Kashmir
Updated 18 sec ago
Follow

SCO security chief in Pakistan as Indian, Pakistani forces continue to exchange fire in Kashmir

SCO security chief in Pakistan as Indian, Pakistani forces continue to exchange fire in Kashmir
  • Tensions between Pakistan, India have soared over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists in one of the deadliest assaults in decades
  • Both nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, and India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty
Updated 18 sec ago
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Maj. Gen. Ularbek Sharsheyev, executive director of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), has met a top Pakistani military commander, the Pakistani military said on Saturday, Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire for a second straight day in Kashmir.
The visit comes at a time of heightened tensions between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area that killed 26 tourists on Tuesday. Kashmir’s police have identified three suspects, including two Pakistani nationals, who carried out the attack. Pakistan has denied any involvement and its defense minister has called for an international probe into the attack.
The Indian Army said its troops responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from multiple Pakistan Army posts that started around midnight on Friday along the 740-km de facto border separating the disputed Kashmir region, Reuters reported. There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani military.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, said Maj. Gen. Sharsheyev met with General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi, where they discussed “evolving security dynamics in the region.”
“During meeting, both sides discussed evolving security dynamics in the region and collaborative measures to enhance counter terrorism cooperation,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“CJCSC [Gen. Mirza] acknowledged the efforts of SCO (RATS) for promoting regional cooperation to fight the menace of terrorism and reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment in ensuring sustainable peace at reginal and global level.”
India and Pakistan have a decades-old ceasefire agreement over the disputed region of Kashmir but their troops still exchange gunfire sporadically. The two nations both claim Kashmir and have fought two of their three wars over it.
After the latest attack, both India and Pakistan unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines, and India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus River and its tributaries.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja told New York Times on Friday that Islamabad believes an international investigation is needed into the killing of the 26 men in Pahalgam and is willing to work with international investigators.
India used the aftermath of the militant attack as a pretext to suspend the water treaty and for domestic political purposes, according to Asif. New Delhi was taking steps to punish Pakistan “without any proof, without any investigation.”
“We do not want this war to flare up, because flaring up of this war can cause disaster for this region,” Asif told the newspaper.
Also on Friday, US President Donald Trump said India and Pakistan will figure out relations between themselves. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he cited historical conflict in the disputed border region and said he knew both countries’ leaders, but did not answer when asked whether he would contact them.
“They’ll get it figured out one way or the other,” he said as he traveled aboard his plane. “There’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been.”
Rapidly deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan over a deadly shooting in Indian-administered Kashmir are starting to have small but prickly economic consequences for both nations.
While India unveiled a series of mostly symbolic diplomatic measures against Pakistan, Islamabad responded on Thursday with similar tit-for-tat measures but upped the ante by halting trade with New Delhi and closing its airspace to Indian airlines.
Experts say that while the retaliatory moves will not have an immediate or far-reaching impact, it will likely result in longer and more expensive flights for Indians, while forcing Pakistan to increase pharmaceutical imports from other countries. 

Topics: Pakistan India Pakistan India Ties ISPR

Police kill nine militants in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province

Police kill nine militants in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province
Updated 44 min 32 sec ago
Follow

Police kill nine militants in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province

Police kill nine militants in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province
  • The development follows a roadside blast in Balochistan that killed three paramilitary troops and injured four others in the Marget coalfield area
  • Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a decades-long insurgency by Baloch separatists besides religiously motivated groups
Updated 44 min 32 sec ago
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have killed nine suspected militants in an intelligence-based operation in the Pishin district, the provincial police’s counter-terrorism department (CTD) said on Saturday.
The militants belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during a raid in Khanai Baba, a remote area of Pishin district located 55 kilometers from the provincial capital of Quetta, according to the CTD.
The TTP, which has been fighting with the Pakistani state since 2007, has stepped up its attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting anti-Pakistan militant groups, including the TTP, that carry out cross-border attacks in Pakistan. Taliban authorities deny the allegation.
“The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Balochistan carried out the raid in Pishin, killing nine terrorists of TTP after an exchange of fire,” the CTD said in a statement. “Explosives and arms were seized during the operation.”
The CTD said the slain militants had been involved in various militant activities in the province, without offering any evidence.
Pakistan has been battling twin insurgencies: one led my religiously motivated groups like the TTP, mainly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the other by ethno-nationalist Baloch separatist groups in Balochistan.
The CTD raid followed a roadside blast in Balochistan that killed three paramilitary troops and injured four others in the Marget coalfield area near Quetta on Friday, a local administration official said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatist militants, who frequently target security forces, Chinese nationals, ethnic Punjabi commuters and laborers in the restive province.
The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people.
Last month, the Baloch Liberation Army separatist group hijacked a train with hundreds of passengers aboard near Balochistan’s Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed.
In a statement, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti praised the CTD action against militants in Pishin.
“The intelligence-based operation averted a major tragedy in Balochistan,” he said. “The law enforcement agencies remain fully determined to completely eradicate terrorism from Pakistan.”

Topics: balochistan police

Pakistan minister urges international probe of Kashmir attack

Pakistan minister urges international probe of Kashmir attack
Updated 26 April 2025
Reuters
Follow

Pakistan minister urges international probe of Kashmir attack

Pakistan minister urges international probe of Kashmir attack
  • India has said there were Pakistani elements to the attack that killed 26 men on Tuesday, Islamabad denies any involvement
  • Khawaja Asif says Pakistan is ‘ready to cooperate’ with ‘any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors’
Updated 26 April 2025
Reuters

Pakistan believes an international investigation is needed into the killing of 26 men at a tourist spot in Indian Kashmir this week and is willing to work with international investigators, the New York Times reported on Friday, quoting Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
Asif told the newspaper in an interview that Pakistan was “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors.”
India has said there were Pakistani elements to the attack on Tuesday, but Islamabad has denied any involvement. The two countries both claim the mountainous region but each controls only part of it.
Since the attack, the nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with India putting the critical Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines.
Asif told the newspaper that India had used the aftermath of the militant attack as a pretext to suspend the water treaty and for domestic political purposes.
India, was taking steps to punish Pakistan “without any proof, without any investigation,” he added.
“We do not want this war to flare up, because flaring up of this war can cause disaster for this region,” Asif told the newspaper.
A little-known militant group, Kashmir Resistance, claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media message.
Indian security agencies say Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, is a front for Pakistan-based militant organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Asif disputed that allegation in the interview. He said Lashkar-e-Taiba was “defunct” and had no ability to plan or conduct attacks from Pakistan-controlled territory.
“They don’t have any setup in Pakistan,” he said, according to the newspaper.
“Those people, whatever is left of them, they are contained. Some of them are under house arrest, some of them are in custody. They are not at all active,” the official said.

Topics: Pakistan India Pakistan India Ties Khawaja Asif Indus Water Treaty

Pakistan finance chief urges faster payouts from climate loss and damage fund

Pakistan finance chief urges faster payouts from climate loss and damage fund
Updated 26 April 2025
Follow

Pakistan finance chief urges faster payouts from climate loss and damage fund

Pakistan finance chief urges faster payouts from climate loss and damage fund
  • Muhammad Aurangzeb calls climate change an ‘existential threat’ to countries like his own
  • He says Pakistan has always been a strong proponent of the fund and calls for its swift use
Updated 26 April 2025
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday urged the international community to ensure faster and simpler disbursements from a new global fund set up to help vulnerable countries respond to climate-related losses.

The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022 before being officially operationalized by 198 countries, aims to help developing and least developed countries (LDCs) cope with both economic and non-economic impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and slow-onset crises like sea-level rise and droughts.

Aurangzeb made the remarks while addressing a high-level dialogue over the issue, held on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings in Washington.

“Emphasizing that simplicity and agility should be the guiding principles, the finance minister urged the need for speedy disbursements under the fund, unlike the experience of LDCs and other vulnerable nations with existing climate finance mechanisms,” Pakistan’s finance ministry said in a statement circulated after the dialogue.

Aurangzeb also stressed the importance of “the integrity of the whole process with adequate checks and balances,” according to the statement.

He said Pakistan had been among the strongest proponents of the fund, warning that climate change represents an “existential threat” to countries like his own.

Pakistan has experienced increasingly erratic weather patterns in recent years, including heatwaves, droughts, cyclones and glacial melting.

In 2022, record monsoon rains triggered floods that killed over 1,700 people, affecting 30 million more and causing economic losses exceeding $30 billion.

Topics: Pakistan climate loss and damage fund

Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’

Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’
Updated 25 April 2025
Reuters
Follow

Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’

Trump says India, Pakistan will resolve tensions ‘one way or another’
  • The US president says there have always been tensions between the two countries
  • Trump declines to say if he would get in touch with Indian and Pakistani leaders
Updated 25 April 2025
Reuters

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: India and Pakistan will figure out relations between themselves, US President Donald Trump said on Friday as tensions soared between the two neighboring countries after an attack in India’s Kashmir region that was the worst in nearly two decades.
Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, cited historical conflict in the disputed border region and said he knew both countries’ leaders, but did not answer when asked whether he would contact them.
“They’ll get it figured out one way or the other,” he said as he traveled aboard his plane. “There’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been.”
On Tuesday, 26 men were killed at a tourist site in Kashmir, shot dead in a meadow. India has said there were Pakistani elements to the attack, a claim Islamabad denies.
Both India and Pakistan have claimed the region of Kashmir, and have fought two wars over the area.
Relations between the two South Asian nations have deteriorated in the days following the attack, with India setting aside a critical water sharing pact and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines. Their trade is also at risk.
On Friday, Indian stock markets fell on fears of fresh tensions as Indian authorities searched for militants in the region, before markets recovered some losses.

Topics: US President Donald Trump Pakistan US Ties Pakistan India Ties

Latest updates

Pope Francis’ funeral is set to begin, in a ceremony he helped reimagine
Pope Francis’ funeral is set to begin, in a ceremony he helped reimagine
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew in Epstein sex trafficking scandal, dead at 41
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew in Epstein sex trafficking scandal, dead at 41
Two-year-old US citizen deported ‘with no meaningful process’
Two-year-old US citizen deported ‘with no meaningful process’
Indian military says Pakistani troops fired at positions along border in disputed Kashmir overnight
Indian military says Pakistani troops fired at positions along border in disputed Kashmir overnight
FBI arrests a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities
FBI arrests a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.