ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched one of its largest Hajj medical operations in Saudi Arabia, deploying hundreds of health care workers and expanding medical infrastructure to support pilgrims facing extreme summer heat and rising infection risks during this year’s pilgrimage.
The operation comes as nearly 179,000 Pakistani pilgrims are set to perform Hajj, one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings, where overcrowding, heat exhaustion and communicable diseases can pose health challenges. Medical teams are operating around the clock across Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah under an expanded health care plan that includes dozens of dispensaries and a newly established hospital.
The expanded deployment follows new Saudi health regulations requiring dedicated medical facilities for pilgrim groups of around 5,000 people, prompting Pakistan to significantly upgrade its health care presence for Hajj this year.
“We were asked to establish 34 dispensaries here at Makkah, three at Madinah and one at Jeddah,” Dr. Muhammad Tauqeer Malik, director of the Pakistan Hajj medical mission, told Arab News.
He added that the 422-member mission includes 160 doctors, nurses, paramedics and pharmacists backed by logistics support from Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.
The scale of the pilgrimage has turned the operation into a high-intensity medical response effort, with clinics treating thousands of patients daily. Doctors say respiratory tract infections, dehydration, muscle pain, fatigue and heat-related illnesses are among the most common complaints as temperatures continue to rise.
Pakistani authorities have also established a new central hospital in Makkah, replacing a smaller and older facility, to manage the growing patient load.
According to the Hajj medical mission, the hospital includes radiology, dental services, ultrasound, advanced X-ray units, a dedicated laboratory and a physiotherapy clinic, while remote dispensaries have been equipped with electrocardiogram (ECG) machines to help detect cardiac emergencies.
Under bilateral protocols, Pakistani medical teams stabilize critical patients before transferring them to Saudi hospitals.
“The patients with the heart attacks are immediately evacuated by the Red Crescent Society of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Malik said, noting that Saudi authorities also take charge of patients requiring strict isolation for communicable diseases such as chickenpox, mumps or herpes.
Stringent Saudi regulations require the Pakistani mission to exclusively treat Pakistani pilgrims.
“We have not treated any patients from any other nationalities because Saudi regulations or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health do not allow us,” Malik added.
At the clinics, administrators use digital registration systems to record patients’ blood pressure, blood sugar and temperature before prescriptions are processed and medicines issued electronically through on-site pharmacies.
The operation also includes separate treatment areas for families and women to ensure privacy and cultural comfort.
“Most women coming here are suffering from breathing difficulties, stomach problems, dehydration, weakness, fatigue, body aches, leg pain and sore throat,” said Dr. Hina Syeda, speaking from a busy clinic in Makkah.
Syeda said medical teams were placing strong emphasis on preventative counselling to limit the spread of viral infections among pilgrims gathered in densely crowded spaces.
“For this, we advise patients to wear masks so they can avoid coughs, colds and flu, because this is a very crowded place with many people, and there is a risk of infections spreading from one person to another.”
For many pilgrims, the mission provides critical health care support far from home.
Kulsoom Bibi, a Pakistani pilgrim who sought treatment after suffering severe physical strain, praised the response of medical staff.
“I had severe back pain, and they treated me very well and provided physiotherapy,” she said. “They are giving excellent support and cooperation to the pilgrims during Hajj.”
Pakistan’s Hajj medical mission chief also praised the support extended by Saudi authorities.
“Saudi Arabia has always helped us,” he said. “A brotherly nation and a close liaison exist between us and the Ministry of Health.”
Officials expect the pressure on medical teams to intensify further as Hajj enters its final and most physically demanding stages in the coming days.
“Because this Hajj is again in the peak summer season, so the heat stroke and those issues are also slowly increasing every day,” Malik said, adding that Pakistan’s Hajj mission was prepared to deal with any challenge.
