Pakistan’s religion ministry proposes expansion of ‘Makkah Route’ project

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry presented a summary to the the top economic decision-making body, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), on Wednesday to scale up the Makkah Route project designed to ease Hajj journeys of pilgrims arriving in the kingdom from various Muslim countries. 
Under the Makkah Route project initiated by Saudi Arabia, all immigration requirements of pilgrims are to be fulfilled at the airport of origin. This saves pilgrims several hours upon reaching the kingdom since they can just enter the country, having gone through immigration already at home. The project also includes other Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
Pakistan implemented a pilot project in 2019 at the Islamabad International Airport. The government now plans to extend the facility to potential pilgrims in Lahore and Karachi, making the two cities part of the expanded initiative.
“One of the pre-conditions for scaling up of Makkah Route Project was grant of special exemption on the import of technical equipments in Pakistan by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ECC said in a handout after its Wednesday meeting, deciding that the Federal Board of Revenue would hold a separate consultation with the religion ministry to work out the details of the matter before seeking the ECC’s approval on it. 
Pakistan planned last year to widen the scope of the Makkah Route initiative, but the Hajj was performed on a limited scale amid rising coronavirus infection globally.