ISLAMABAD: Pakistani volunteers hired by the government to facilitate the country’s Hajj pilgrims this year expressed their excitement on Sunday, saying that they were eager to take part in the “noble cause.”
Pakistan has selected 642 Hajj assistants from various federal and provincial government departments via a competitive process to facilitate almost 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims who are expected to perform Hajj this year.
Hajj, one of the main five pillars of Islam, requires every Muslim adult who is physically able, of sound mind and financially capable, to visit Islamic holy sites in Makkah.
This year, Saudi Arabia has reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65. Around 100,000 people from Pakistan’s total quota will be facilitated by private Hajj tour operators.
Maria Samiullah, a government employee who has been selected as a Hajj assistant this year, looks forward to the opportunity, describing it as a “blessing from God.”
“I am very excited to serve Hajj pilgrims as this is a noble cause and they are guests of God,” she said. “We have been called there [Saudi Arabia] to serve them [Hajj pilgrims].”
The picture taken on May 9, 2023, shows female Hajj assistants attending a training session for this year's Hajj mission in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AN photo by Muhammad Ibrahim)
Trainers and experienced Hajj assistants who performed their duties in the past trained new recruits this year to ensure the Hajj operation goes smoothly. All 642 Hajj assistants and their trainers gathered in a sprawling Hajji camp on the outskirts of Islamabad where a two-week training session was held.
Hajj assistants, who will depart for Saudi Arabia in different batches with pilgrims, would be responsible for the provision of food, accommodation, transportation, and medical facilities to Pakistani pilgrims.
To ensure a smooth Hajj operation, authorities introduced a basic Arabic language course for the Hajj facilitators, physical training, and a mock exercise that entailed the identification of Hajji camps in Mina and Arafat through different sign boards.
Samiullah said Hajj volunteers had worked hard this year to ensure maximum facilities are provided to the pilgrims.
“We are pushing ourselves beyond the boundary so that we won’t prove a failure for ourselves, our department, or the government,” she said.
Pakistan’s religion ministry has deputed senior officials at the Hajji Camp to process documents and oversee the visa process and air tickets of the Hajj assistants. The officials are also responsible for imparting quality training to the Hajj facilitators.
“We are imparting quality training to all Hajj assistants to prepare them for the Hajj mission,” Muhammad Hafeez, a training coordinator at the Hajji Camp, told Arab News.
“They have to perform their duties in above 50°C in Saudi Arabia, but they are all among the luckiest to get selected for the job,” Hafeez added.
The picture taken on May 9, 2023, shows male Hajj assistants attending a training session for this year's Hajj mission in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AN photo by Muhammad Ibrahim)
He said all facilitators were selected after they passed a rigorous physical test which included running 10 kilometers near the Pakistan Sports Board headquarters in Islamabad.
“The benefit for this exercise was that all the assistants that came to us, they came prepared,” he said. “There is only one job there [at Hajj] that you have to walk the whole day to take care of the pilgrims’ needs,” Hafeez added.
The picture taken on May 9, 2023, shows female Hajj trainers conducting a training session for this year's Hajj mission in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AN photo by Muhammad Ibrahim)
Pakistan will separately send another 500-people-strong medical mission comprising doctors and paramedics for the annual spiritual pilgrimage. The government will also set up 14 dispensaries, including a central hospital in Makkah and Madinah for pilgrims.
Pakistan also operates a large transport fleet in Makkah and Madinah during Hajj to ensure pilgrims travel without encumbrances to the sacred places in both cities.
Tassawar Iqbal, a police officer who previously served as a transport manager during the Hajj, is geared up to manage all conveyance-related matters in the best possible manner.
“When we went [for the Hajj mission] last year as well, it was a team effort and it continued to be managed very well,” Iqbal told Arab News, recalling his experience.
“We tried to achieve two things: the first one was efficiency and the second one was economy,” he said. “Thankfully, we succeeded in both [domains].”
