ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor on Saturday said that around 8,500 Pakistani pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, since the start of a special flight operation by Pakistan on June 6.
The first Hajj flight carrying Pakistani pilgrims departed from Islamabad on June 6. Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, with 32,000 people using a government scheme and 48,000 traveling through private operators.
“Through Hajj flights operation in the last five days, 8,500 pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia, more than 1,500 pilgrims will be flown to Madinah by 5 Hajj flights on Saturday,” the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan will operate 42 flights to transport 14,007 Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia under the “Road to Makkah” initiative this year.
Under the initiative, 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.
These 42 flights will be operated from the Islamabad airport, where Pakistan implemented a pilot project in 2019. The Road to Makkah initiative also includes Indonesia and Malaysia.
Saudi Arabia has allowed up to one million people to join the Hajj pilgrimage this year, inviting pilgrims from foreign countries for the first time after two years of COVID-19 restrictions saw the annual pilgrimage limited to residents of the kingdom.
Pilgrims this year must be under the age of 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
