ISLAMABAD: Nearly 200,000 Pakistani pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia to perform one of the most sacred religious rituals as annual Muslim pilgrimage begins in Makkah today.
The Hajj is among the five pillars of Islam that is mandatory for all adult Muslims who are financially and physically capable to undertake the journey at least once in their lives.
It is a combination of different rituals that last for five days in Makkah and three other places – Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat — on the outskirts of that city.
This year, around 30,000 Pakistanis availed the pre-departure facility at the Islamabad International Airport under ‘Road to Makkah’ project.
“The pre-Hajj flight operation has concluded successfully with zero complaints from pilgrims,” Imran Siddique, spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News from Makkah.
Lauding the Saudi government for its cooperation, he said the Pakistani pilgrims were given “the best” accommodation, transportation and food facilities in both Makkah and Madinah.
“Our pilgrims who have benefited from the Road to Makkah project this year are particularly thankful to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for extending the facility to Pakistan,” Siddique said, hoping the project would also be extended to other airports of the country in the coming years.
Pakistan was included in the ‘Road to Makkah’ project during a February visit to Islamabad by the Saudi crown prince, after which it was announced that all pilgrims traveling from Islamabad airport would benefit from pre-departure immigration facility. Malaysia and Indonesia are already part of the project.
A team of Saudi officials set up the pilot immigration program at the Islamabad International Airport in July which provided immigration facility to about 30,000 Pakistani pilgrims flying from the country’s federal capital. The project helped these pilgrims save 10 to 12 hours of waiting time at Saudi airports.
Siddique said that Pakistani Hajj pilgrims were allotted 13 Makaatib [service offices] in train zone, 23 in old Mina and 24 in new Mina. About 54,000 Pakistani pilgrims would avail train facility, he added, while buses had been arranged for the rest of the pilgrims for their movement in the area where Hajj rituals are performed.
Pakistan’s post-Hajj flight operation will continue from August 17 to September 14 this year.
200,000 Pakistani pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia as annual Hajj ritual begins today
200,000 Pakistani pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia as annual Hajj ritual begins today
- Pakistan hopes “Road to Makkah” project will be extended to other cities after 30,000 pilgrims benefited at Islamabad airport this year
- The county’s post-Hajj flight operation will begin from August 17
Pakistan to export halal meat worth $14.5 million to Tajikistan
- Effective trade facilitation can increase bilateral Pakistan-Tajikistan trade to $300 million, says state media
- PM Shehbaz Sharif approved Pakistan’s halal meat policy earlier this month in bid to boost meat exports
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will export 143,000 tons of halal meat to Tajikistan worth $14.5 million in the near future, state media reported on Tuesday amid Islamabad’s efforts to bolster trade with Central Asian countries.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, earlier this month, approved Pakistan’s halal meat policy that aims to boost Islamabad’s meat exports to Muslim states.
In a high-level meeting on Dec. 24, Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain said Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Gulf countries are ready to import Pakistani fresh meat and rice. The minister said Tajikistan has expressed the demand to import nearly 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan.
“According to details, Pakistan will export one hundred and forty-three thousand tons of halal meat to Tajikistan, valued at 14.5 million dollars,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
It did not, however, specify a timeline as to when Islamabad planned to export the halal meat items to the Central Asian nation.
The state media said that effective trade facilitation will increase bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan to $300 million, strengthening regional economic integration.
Pakistan has recently attempted to increase its halal meat exports to other Muslim countries such as Malaysia. Both countries announced they had agreed to a $200 million halal meat trade quota during Sharif’s visit to Malaysia in October.
A 2024 report by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) mentioned that the country exported meat worth $512 million in 2024, which included beef, mutton and poultry.
According to the PBS, the UAE remained Pakistan’s top meat export market in 2024 with exports to the Gulf nation reaching $201 million. Meanwhile, meat exports to Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 65.1 percent last year valued at $141 million.
