ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have furthered Saudi Arabia’s Zamzam water initiative for Hajj and made every arrangement to provide the holy water to Hajj pilgrims upon their arrival back to Pakistan, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said on Friday.
“The Zamzam water will be available at all small and major airports of Pakistan to be distributed among the Hajj pilgrims,” Imran Siddique, spokesperson for Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News from Makkah.
He said that ample space has been allocated at all airports for storage of the holy water and “each pilgrim will get a five-liter Zamzam bottle on arrival without any hassle.”
Siddique said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has already made arrangements for provision of the holy water to pilgrims at small airports as well including Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Quetta. Private airlines have also stocked Zamzam water at all the airports ahead of post Hajj arrival flight operations which will commence from August 17.
“All these arrangements have been made with cooperation of the Saudi government to facilitate our pilgrims,” Siddique said, adding that provision of hassle-free blessed water to Pakistani pilgrims is part of the Saudi’s “Al-Zamzami Al Sagheer” initiative.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Zamazema Office has launched the project to provide the Zamzam water to pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom.
More than 200,000 Pakistanis have performed Hajj this year, while around 30,000 pilgrims flying from Islamabad international airport benefited from pre-departure immigration facility under the ‘Road to Makkah’ project.
The holy water for Muslims comes from the Zamzam well located in Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah and is believed in the Islamic faith to be a miraculously generated source of water from God.
Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing Hajj and Umrah in order to drink from it and carry it home for family and friends.
Pakistan’s post-Hajj flight operation is scheduled to begin from Saturday with six flights landing at different airports of the country including Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“First Hajj flights carrying around 1500 to 1800 pilgrims back from Saudi Arabia will reach Pakistan tomorrow,” Siddique said, adding that the post-Hajj flight operation will continue till September 15.
Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to get Zamzam water upon arrival as part of Saudi initiative
Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to get Zamzam water upon arrival as part of Saudi initiative
- Each Hajj pilgrim will be handed over a five-liter Zamzam water bottle
- First Hajj flights carrying 1500 to 1800 Pakistan pilgrims will arrive tomorrow
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
