ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said on Thursday Pakistani pilgrims who had traveled to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year were being provided round-the-clock transportation facilities to and from the Great Mosque of Makkah or Masjid Al-Haram.
This January, Saudi Arabia reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota, allowing 179,210 pilgrims from the South Asian country to participate in the annual Islamic religious ritual. The kingdom also removed the upper age limit of 65 years.
Out of Pakistan’s total Hajj quota, approximately 80,000 pilgrims will carry out the pilgrimage under a government scheme, while the remaining are using private tour operators.
“Pakistani pilgrims are being provided with 24-hour Haram transport facilities via modern passenger buses,” a spokesperson for the religious affairs ministry said in a statement.
“For the convenience of pilgrims, 190 modern passenger buses have been provided for transportation to and from the Haram.”
Prior to the commencement of Hajj, which is expected to begin on June 26, the ministry said it would increase the number of buses to 360 once all intending Pakistani pilgrims reached Makkah. Bus stops had been set up at various locations around Haram, including Ajyad, Ghaza, Jorwal, and Kadi, while 28 guides had been appointed to instruct pilgrims about internal and external routes of the Haram.
“During Friday prayers, the guides of the Hajj mission from other areas will also be on duty as Haram guides,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the ministry said that it was accommodating Pakistani pilgrims in Makkah’s Aziziyah and Bataha Quraish colonies, while nine residential sectors had been additionally established for them in Makkah.
Hajj is an obligatory religious ritual for adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of carrying it out. It involves visiting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at least once in a lifetime and takes place during the last month of the lunar Islamic calendar called Dhu Al-Hijjah.
