ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is already making preparations for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage and exploring “cost-effective” travel options by land and sea, Minister for Religious Affairs Talha Mahmood said on Wednesday, adding that receiving next year's Hajj quota in advance from Saudi Arabia was allowing the South Asian nation to plan in advance for a "more affordable" Hajj.
Saudi Arabia this year reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65 in January. More than 160,000 Pakistani pilgrims performed the pilgrimage this year which fell on June 26.
A special flight operation to bring back Pakistani pilgrims is still underway and will conclude on August 2.
“Fortunately, we already know our quota for next year, allowing us for advanced preparations and more cost-effective travel options, such as traveling by ship or road, which will make Hajj more affordable for pilgrims,” Mahmood said at a Hajj seminar in Islamabad.
Speaking about Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route Initiative under which Hajj pilgrims go through immigration facilities at airports in their respective countries, Mahmood said he was hopeful the program would be expanded to Lahore and Karachi next year, “which will further enhance the Hajj experience for Pakistani pilgrims.”
This year, the program was implemented in Islamabad.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the seminar, the minister said he had instructed Pakistan’s Director General of Hajj to return to Pakistan with the last Hajj flight to start preparations for next year’s pilgrimage.
“We aim to create policies that make Hajj more affordable for people and provide them with better facilities as this is the first time we have started working immediately after Hajj,” the minister said.
“I expect further improvements and changes in the future, as during my recent visit, I observed a transformed Saudi Arabia, with well-educated individuals serving at the highest levels of the government,” he said, appreciating Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for taking significant and innovative steps to improve the Hajj experience this year.
“They have revolutionized Hajj operations through the use of technology, and I am optimistic that it will continue to improve over the next four to five years.”
Saudi ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, also said the Makkah Route Initiative would be expanded next year to more airports.
“This year more than 26,000 pilgrims used it from Islamabad,” the envoy told reporters. “We plan next year to expand it to Karachi and Lahore as well.”