ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday he was optimistic that Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route Initiative, which was recently launched in the federal capital to facilitate over 26,000 Pakistani pilgrims, would also be expanded to other cities next year.

The statement comes a day after Pakistan’s religious affairs minister Senator Talha Mahmood and Saudi ambassador Nawaf bin Said-Al Malki formally launched the project at the Islamabad International Airport.

The Makkah Route Initiative is part of Saudi Arabia’s Guests of God Service Program, which King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurated in 2019 under Vision 2030 to diversify the kingdom’s economy. Under the scheme, Hajj pilgrims go through immigration process at the airports of their own countries before departing for Saudi Arabia.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday briefed the members of his cabinet on the details of the Road to Makkah agreement signed with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, which will benefit a large number of Pakistani pilgrims,” said a statement released by the PM Office.

“The prime minister has expressed the hope that after its launch at the Islamabad airport yesterday, this facility, with the support of the Saudi government, will also be provided to pilgrims going to the kingdom from Lahore and Karachi next year.”

Following the launch of the initiative, Pakistan’s religious affairs minister said the immigration of pilgrims would take place in their own country, adding they would be able to exit Saudi airports upon arrival without having to go through the same process again.

Mahmood added the Saudi deputy interior minister, Dr. Nasser Al-Dawood, who visited Pakistan this week to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with officials in Islamabad, had promised to extend the Makkah Route Initiative to at least two to three more Pakistani cities.

“These include Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar airports as they [Saudis] need time since a lot of preparation, including equipment and staff, is required for each airport,” he explained.

Mahmood also said the first Hajj flight would depart from Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi at 4:50 pm on May 21 and land in Madinah.