ISLAMABAD: A 45-member Saudi delegation arrived in Islamabad on Sunday to review arrangements for the Makkah Route Initiative, the religion ministry said, as Pakistan gears up for Hajj 2025.
The Makkah Route Initiative is designed to streamline immigration processes by enabling pilgrims to complete official travel formalities at their departure airports. Initially tested in Islamabad in 2019, the program was later expanded to Karachi, benefitting tens of thousands of Pakistani travelers.
The annual pilgrimage is expected to take place in June, with nearly 90,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme while 23,620 Pakistanis will perform Hajj through private tour operators this year.
“A 45-member delegation has arrived in Pakistan to review arrangements for the Road to Makkah project,” the religious affairs ministry said in a statement.
Saudi immigration officials, designated for Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, were warmly welcomed by the airport management team upon arrival in the southern port city, the Pakistan Airports Authority said.
“Under the Road to Makkah initiative, the Saudi immigration team will carry out Saudi immigration clearance for Hajj pilgrims at eight dedicated counters at Jinnah International Airport, starting 29 April, coinciding with the departure of first Hajj flight from Karachi,” it said in a statement.
“This initiative will streamline the pilgrims’ entry process into Saudi Arabia by completing immigration formalities before departure from Pakistan.”
Under the Road to Makkah project, immigration for Pakistani pilgrims will be completed in Pakistan instead of Saudi Arabia.
Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Route Initiative, according to the Pakistani religion ministry. Of these, 28,000 pilgrims will depart for the Kingdom from Islamabad while the remaining 22,500 will leave from the southern port city of Karachi.
“A total of 100 flights from Islamabad and 80 flights from Karachi will operate under the Road to Makkah project,” the statement said.
Pakistan will launch Hajj flight operations on Apr. 29, with the first flight departing from the eastern city of Lahore.
While a precise number of pilgrims for Hajj 2025 is difficult to determine in advance, projections suggest it will be a record-breaking year, with over 2.5 million pilgrims expected.
Saudi delegation arrives in Pakistan to review Makkah Route Initiative arrangements
https://arab.news/ynf6b
Saudi delegation arrives in Pakistan to review Makkah Route Initiative arrangements
- Makkah Route Initiative allows pilgrims to complete immigration processes at departure airports
- A total of 100 flights from Islamabad, 80 flights from Karachi will operate under the initiative
Top Pakistani clerics warn government against sending troops to Gaza to disarm Hamas
- Pakistani clerics raise alarm over reports of pressure on Muslim nations to provide troops for Gaza stabilization force under Trump peace plan
- Islamabad has previously said that it is willing to join the international stabilization force but ‘not ready’ to play any role in disarming Hamas
ISLAMABAD: A group of Pakistan’s top religious and political leaders on Monday warned the government against sending Pakistani troops to Gaza to disarm Palestinian group Hamas, amid discussions over a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) for the Palestinian territory.
The representative gathering, chaired by prominent scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani, brought together leaders from Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadees and Shia schools of thought, alongside leaders of the country’s main religio-political parties, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
The international stabilization force, which is to be composed of troops from Muslim countries, is the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza announced in Sept. Islamabad has previously said it is willing to join the ISF but “not ready” to play any role in disarming Hamas. Hamas’s Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said this month the group had a “legitimate right” to hold weapons, while Israel has repeatedly insisted that Hamas be disarmed.
In a joint statement issued after the meeting in the port city of Karachi on Monday, Pakistani clerics raised alarm over reports that international pressure is mounting on Muslim-majority nations to provide troops for the transitional security force in Gaza, following Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
“In such circumstances, demands are being made to Muslim countries that they send their forces there to disarm Hamas,” the statement said. “Several Muslim governments have already refused this, and pressure is being increased on Pakistan.”
Last month, the United Nations Security Council approved Washington’s plan, which called for a yet-to-be-established Board of Peace as a transitional authority that Trump would head, and the stabilization force, which would be empowered to oversee borders, provide security and demilitarize the territory.
The gathering of Pakistani clerics urged Islamabad to resist any diplomatic overtures from Washington regarding troop deployment.
“This gathering, with full emphasis, demands the Government of Pakistan refrain from sending its forces to disarm Hamas and that it should not yield to any pressure in this regard,” the statement said.
The assembly expressed complete support for the liberation of Palestine and described the effort as a “duty of every Muslim.”
It said that Pakistan’s armed forces are “imbued with the spirit of jihad” and that the “notion of placing them against any sacred struggle for the liberation of Baitul Muqaddas or Palestine is impossible for the nation to accept.”
The religious leaders characterized the proposal as a “conspiracy” from which the government must “protect the country.”
Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi and the prime minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, did not respond to Arab News requests for comment on the statement.
Washington reportedly views Pakistan as a prime candidate for the ISF, given its experience in high-intensity border conflicts and internal counter-insurgency operations.
Last week, Pakistan’s foreign office said that Islamabad had not taken any decision on joining the proposed stabilization force for Gaza and had received no formal request from the US or any other country in this regard.
“I am not aware of any specific request made to Pakistan. We will inform you about any development if it takes place,” Andrabi told reporters.
He also sought to distance the government from rumors of a pending visit by Pakistan’s defense forces chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to the US to meet President Trump.
