ISLAMABAD: With Hajj flight operation to Saudi Arabia in full swing, Pakistani pilgrims in Madinah have expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by the government, saying their experience has so far been “better than expected.”

The Saudi authorities reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims in January and scrapped the upper age limit of 65. About 80,000 pilgrims are scheduled to perform Hajj under the government scheme in the ongoing year while the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators.

The first batch of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims arrived in the holy city Madinah on May 22, while the last flight would depart from Pakistan on June 20. According to the religious affairs ministry, these pilgrims will depart for Makkah after spending about eight days in Madinah.

“The arrangements made for us here by the Pakistani government are better than expected,” Muhammad Farrukh, a pilgrim from southern Karachi city, said in a video interview circulated by the religious affairs ministry. “[The ministry officials] have addressed all our concerns. For instance, we were worried about purchasing sacrificial animals for Hajj. But the government returned our money so we could buy the animal of our choice.”

Another pilgrim from Peshawar, Naveed Durrani, said he boarded Hajj flight from Islamabad.

“The hotel [booked for us] is right opposite the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah which is very convenient for us,” he added.

While most pilgrims maintained they had not faced any problem in the kingdom, they said patience was still the key to good experience.

“I am here for Hajj for the first time and this experience has been very good,” said Zara, a pilgrim from Lahore who only revealed her first name.

“Even if we complain about small issues, they are immediately addressed,” she added. “But we should remember that Hajj teaches us patience and how to be a good human, which is the key to a good experience.”

Hajj, an obligatory religious ritual, requires physically and financially capable adult Muslims to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at least once in their life during the last month of the lunar Islamic calendar called Dhu Al-Hijjah.