ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has launched a short message service (SMS) to help Hajj pilgrims verify the authenticity of private tour operators and protect against unauthorised service providers, ministry officials said on Monday.

With the new service, pilgrims can now send a text to ‘8331’ and get details about registered private Hajj tour operators, Imran Siddiqui, spokesperson for the religion ministry, told Arab News.

Only 798 private tour operators are authorised to send pilgrims for Hajj.

The ministry has also launched five mobile phone apps to guide pilgrims about locations in Mina and inform them about other Hajj-related details.

Last week, Saudi Arabia agreed in principle to provide e-visas to Pakistani Hajj pilgrims travelling to Mecca this year, an important milestone in ties between staunch allies Islamabad and Riyadh.

“This year Pakistani Hajj pilgrims will get e-visas,” Imran Siddique, a spokesman for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, had told Arab News, adding that the move would help travellers save a lot of time. “From this year, pilgrims can download their visas (papers) from our ministry's website and we can also send them visas through Whatsapp, if needed.”

Nearly 107,526 Pakistanis will perform Hajj on the government’s quota this year, while more than 76,000 will use services offered by private tour and Hajj operators. Hajj flights from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia will begin in the first week of July.