ISLAMABAD: Pakistani pilgrims who will perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage this year under the government scheme began arriving in Madinah this week as Pakistan kicked off its 33-day-long Hajj flight operation.
Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme, departing for Makkah and Madinah via 342 flights, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31. The first Hajj flights departed from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta for the Saudi city of Madinah on Tuesday.
“First flight carrying 393 pilgrims from Islamabad landed at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport,” Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday.
“The intending pilgrims were transported to their residences in special buses. Later, they were warmly received at their hotels and presented flowers, chocolates, dates and refreshments as per Saudi cultural traditions.”
The pilgrims from Karachi and Islamabad availed the Makkah Route Initiative, which 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. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again.
Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia under the initiative this year. The scheme was launched in 2019 by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and has been implemented in five countries: Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
Besides those using the government scheme, 23,620 Pakistanis will also perform Hajj through private tour operators.
The total quota for pilgrims granted to Pakistan for 2025 was 179,210, which could not be filled.
