ISLAMABAD: Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki on Tuesday said the Route to Makkah project would be expanded to Lahore and Karachi next year, while it would be operating at “full capacity” in Islamabad.
The Saudi envoy said this at a conference titled, “Pak-Saudi relations and services extended by Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrims,” where he was accompanied by Sadiq Sanjrani, chairman of the upper house of Pakistan parliament.
The Route to Makkah initiative allows pilgrims to fulfil all immigration requirements at the airport of origin. This saves them several hours upon reaching the kingdom since they can just enter the country, having already gone through immigration at home.
Pakistan has been operating flights to transport more than 14,000 Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year under the Route to Makkah project from Islamabad, where the country launched a pilot project for the new immigration mechanism in 2019.
“The route to Makkah initiative will work under its full capacity at the Islamabad airport from next year and will also start from Lahore and Karachi,” Ambassador Al-Malki told Arab News on the sidelines of the conference.
Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki talks to journalists in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 21, 2022. (KSAembassyPK/Twitter)
The Saudi government has completed many projects to facilitate and serve pilgrims under the Vision 2030 and the most important of them was the Route to Makkah, the envoy said. “Saudi authorities have ensured the best use of technology to facilitate Hajj and Umrah pilgrims,” he added.
Spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Vision 2030 aims to diversify the Saudi economy, away from a dependency on oil and society with varied and rich experience of a quality lifestyle, including world class tourism.
Senate Chairman Sanjrani said the Saudi government had transformed Hajj operations through the digitalization of different services to facilitate millions of pilgrims from all over the world.
“Saudi Arabia is investing a lot of its resources to provide the best possible facilities to pilgrims,” he told Arab News, adding the Route to Makkah initiative is a great facility provided by the Kingdom that will save pilgrims inconvenience at Saudi airports.
The Senate chairman said Pakistan and its people would always stand by the Kingdom through every thick and thin. “The Pakistani people will not shy away from sacrificing their lives for the security of the Two Holy Mosques,” he added.
Participants at the conference appreciated different initiatives taken by the Saudi government to facilitate pilgrims, including the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques, better connectivity between Makkah and Madinah, and allowing around one million pilgrims to perform this year’s Hajj despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
