ISLAMABAD: More than 1,200 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have reached Madinah via five flights operated in the last 24 hours, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said on Monday, with one of the flights departing from Islamabad under the Route to Makkah initiative. 

Pakistan began its pre-Hajj flight operation on Sunday with the first flight taking off from Karachi. Members of the Pakistani Hajj mission and Saudi officials welcomed the first batch of Pakistani pilgrims upon arrival in Madinah, where they would stay for around a week before leaving for Makkah. 

On Monday, around 1,400 more Pakistani pilgrims will leave the country to perform Hajj. 

“Today, 1,390 pilgrims will reach Madinah Munnawwarah via four flights,” a spokesperson for the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said. 

“More than 3,000 pilgrims will reach Madinah Munnawwarah via nine Hajj flights on Tuesday.” 

Hajj is an obligatory religious ritual for adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable, which involves visiting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at least once in their lifetime during the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, known as Dhu Al-Hijjah. 

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 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims are expected to perform Hajj this year under the government scheme, while the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators, according to the authorities. 

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesman said the pre-Hajj operation of the national flag carrier would continue until June 2.