ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Raja Ali Ejaz hailed the implementation of Saudi Arabia’s Road to Makkah project which aims to facilitate pilgrims traveling to the country for Hajj this year.
A statement released by the Pakistani Embassy in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said that the program is one of several pioneering initiatives undertaken by the Kingdom in recent times.
“The program is being implemented for the first time in Pakistan and in a number of other countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Tunisia. Some 225,000 pilgrims are expected to benefit from this...” the statement added.
During his visit to Pakistan in February 2019 – on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had announced plans to include Pakistan in the project.
“The initiative aims at completing the Saudi immigration process of the intending Hajj pilgrims at specialized counters in Pakistan airports, and upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, the pilgrims will just move out of the airports without the need of going through the process of immigration again,” the statement read.
Ambassador Ejaz said that Pakistan feels honored to be a part of the program which is aimed at facilitating the smooth and hassle-free movement of pilgrims upon their arrival in Saudi airports by reducing the time spent at immigration.
Earlier this week, a 51-member team from Saudi arrived in Pakistan to install the immigration clearance system at the Islamabad International Airport, with Hajj flights scheduled to begin from tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in a statement released on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi thanked the Kingdom for including Pakistan in the initiative, adding that the move will facilitate several pilgrims traveling from the country.
Pakistan’s envoy to Saudi all praise for Road to Makkah initiative
Pakistan’s envoy to Saudi all praise for Road to Makkah initiative
- Program is being implemented for the first time in a South Asian country
- FM Qureshi thanks Riyadh for including Islamabad in the project
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
