ISLAMABAD: More than 20,000 pilgrims returned to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia since August 17, 2019 after completing the Hajj pilgrimage, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“[The returnees include] 14,000 from the government quota and 6,000 who were using services offered by private tour and Hajj operators,” Imran Siddiqui, MRA spokesman said in a statement, adding that 100,000 others are still in Makkah.
He added that special flights – which began on August 17 to bring the 200,000 pilgrims back – will continue until September 15.
“Elaborate arrangements have been made on Pakistan’s 10 airports to welcome the pilgrims on their return,” Siddiqui said, adding that this year, major airports in the country had also stocked up on Zamzam water – as part of an initiative by the Kingdom – to distribute among pilgrims upon their arrival home.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri lauded the Kingdom’s arrangements and hospitality extended to pilgrims during Hajj this year.
“We are thankful to King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi ministries of Interior, Hajj and also the governor of Makkah for the best arrangements for Hajj this year,” Qadri said in a statement on August 15.
For the first time this year, a pre-immigration pilot program was launched at the Islamabad International Airport as part of Saudi’s Road to Makkah project which Pakistan had been included in on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had made the announcement during his historic visit to Islamabad in February this year.
The initiative was aimed at facilitating Hajj pilgrims by way of a faster immigration process which helped them save up to 10 hours of waiting time on their arrival in Saudi Arabia.
Over 20,000 Pakistani pilgrims return home from Hajj
Over 20,000 Pakistani pilgrims return home from Hajj
- 110,000 others are still in Makkah
- Specially designated flights to bring the Hajjis home will continue until September 15
‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ group hacks India’s ABP News day after Pakistani channels targeted
- ‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ group hacks India’s ABP News day after Pakistani channels targeted
- Multiple Pakistani news channels were hacked on Sunday, during which broadcasts were interrupted with anti-army messages, local media reported
ISLAMABAD: A group by the name of ‘Pakistan Cyber Force’ on Monday hacked an Indian news channel ABP News to ran pro-Pakistan Army content, state media reported on Monday, a day after multiple Pakistani news channels were also hacked.
Pakistan Cyber Force launched a “retaliatory attack” by hacking Hindi-language news channel ABP News, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said. It added that excerpts of speeches by Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir ran on the Indian news channel as well as other content related to the Pakistan Army.
“Pakistan Cyber Force launched a retaliatory attack on India with slogans of Pakistan Zindabad started echoing on an Indian channel,” Radio Pakistan said.
The development takes place a day after prominent Pakistani news channel, Geo News, was hacked just as its 9 p.m. bulletin was about to begin.
Geo Managing Director Azhar Abbas confirmed the breach on Sunday, saying that the news channel was facing repeated hacking attempts since 24 hours by “unknown elements” trying to disrupt its transmission.
“For some time now, Geo News’ broadcast has been continuously disrupted,” he wrote on X. “The channel’s screen was hacked and an inappropriate message was aired.”
He distanced Geo News from the messages that were displayed on the channel, urging authorities to launch an investigation and hold elements responsible for the breach to account.
Pakistani English news website Express Tribune reported that other than Geo News, other local channels such as ARY News and SAMAA were also hacked. It said messages critical of the Pakistani military and its leadership were displayed during the broadcasts.
“In addition to hijacking broadcasts, several Pakistani news channels’ websites were allegedly used to run Google advertisement campaigns in support of Mossad,” Express Tribune said.
The development takes place as tensions in the Middle East surged on Saturday after the US and Israel launched joint attacks against Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A wave of cyber-enabled operations took place early Saturday morning alongside the coordinated US-Israel strikes on targets across Iran, international news agency Reuters reported, citing cybersecurity experts and observers.
It said multiple Irani news websites were hacked to display various messages. BadeSaba, an Iranian religious calendar app with more than 5 million downloads, was also hacked and used to display messages telling users, “It’s time for reckoning” and urging armed forces to give up their weapons.
