ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has announced a new Umrah policy for pilgrims traveling to the two Saudi cities of Madinah and Jeddah.
In a statement released on Tuesday, PIA said it would allow “group bookings and confirmations of at least 10 passengers,” adding that the Umrah policy and fares for travel from Pakistan to Jeddah and Madinah were valid till December 31 this year.
The Economy class return fare from Karachi, inclusive of all taxes, has been set at Rs. 91,000 whereas from other cities of Pakistan the fare will be Rs.96,000.
“The baggage allowance for economy class is 2 pieces not exceeding 36 Kgs and for executive economy the allowable baggage is 2 pieces not exceeding 40 Kgs,” the statement said. “The passengers will be allowed to carry one 5 liters Zam Zam (water) bottle as free allowable baggage.”
PIA said all passengers would be allowed one free change of booking seven days before the date of travel.
Last week Saudi Arabia permitted PIA to operate two new weekly flights to Al-Qassim province starting from November 19. Al-Qassim will be PIA’s fifth destination in Saudi Arabia.
With the new destination’s addition, PIA will be operating 42 weekly flights to Saudi Arabia. It already flies to Madinah, Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah.
Following the lifting of travel bans to check the spread of coronavirus last week, Pakistani pilgrims have started to arrive in Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
Saudi Arabia closed its borders in February to foreign Umrah pilgrims and, in March, stopped its own citizens and residents from taking part in order to contain the spread of the virus. In July, the Kingdom allowed a limited number of domestic pilgrims to perform Hajj.
PIA announces new Umrah policy for Pakistani pilgrims
https://arab.news/pj4hc
PIA announces new Umrah policy for Pakistani pilgrims
- National flag carrier allows group bookings and confirmations of at least 10 passengers
- Airline will operate 42 weekly flights to Saudi Arabia from this month
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.
