Pakistani pilgrims depart from multiple cities as Islamabad begins Hajj flight operation

Pakistani pilgrims depart from multiple cities as Islamabad begins Hajj flight operation
Saudi immigration officer hands Pakistani pilgrim her passport on Makkah Route initiatives’ immigration counter at the Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad on April 29, 2025. (SPA)
Updated 30 April 2025
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Pakistani pilgrims depart from multiple cities as Islamabad begins Hajj flight operation

Pakistani pilgrims depart from multiple cities as Islamabad begins Hajj flight operation
  • Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s Hajj flight operation
  • They will travel to Makkah, Madinah via 342 flights, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan kicked off its 33-day-long Hajj flight operation on Tuesday, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said, with flights departing from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta for the Saudi city of Madinah.
Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s Hajj flight operations. They will travel to Makkah and Madinah via 342 flights in total, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31.
The first Hajj flight for this year, Pakistan International Airlines’ PK-713, departed under the Route to Makkah Initiative from Islamabad at 4:45am, carrying 442 pilgrims. The second flight left the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore at 8:30am, with 147 pilgrims aboard, according to the PAA. The third flight left Quetta with 151 pilgrims and the fourth from Karachi, carrying 285 pilgrims.
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki bid farewell to the pilgrims in Islamabad. Yousaf advised Pakistani pilgrims to strictly adhere to Saudi Arabia’s laws and respect the local culture during the annual Islamic pilgrimage and said he would “soon” travel to Saudi Arabia to review Hajj arrangements.
“As Hajj pilgrims, you are traveling to the sacred land as the guests of Allah and ambassadors of Pakistan, and you are urged to respect the laws and culture of Saudi Arabia,” the minister said in a televised address.
“I will take every possible measure to resolve the issues faced by Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and will personally be among them to provide facilities.”
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. 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.
A total of 28,400 pilgrims will leave for Saudi Arabia through 100 flights from the Islamabad airport, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said. Seven special immigration counters have been set up at the Islamabad airport to facilitate pilgrims under the Makkah Route Initiative. The remaining 22,500 pilgrims will avail the scheme at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June.
In Karachi, the departure ceremony was attended by Saudi Arabia’s Consul General Muhammad bin Nasser Al-Subaie, representatives from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and senior officials from various airport agencies.
“Special arrangements were made at the airport for the pilgrims, including dedicated check-in counters, guidance services, and improved facilities to ensure a smooth and comfortable travel experience,” the PAA said.
“Officials extended their best wishes to the pilgrims for a safe and spiritually fulfilling journey. The Saudi consul general praised the excellent coordination and arrangements made for Hajj operations.”
Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique and Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Mandokhail attended departure ceremonies in Lahore and Quetta, respectively.
Rafique appreciated efforts of the PAA and all concerned departments in ensuring a smooth conduct of Hajj operations and extended his heartfelt wishes to the pilgrims for a safe and peaceful journey.
Balochistan Director Hajj Ilyas Jaffar and representatives of other agencies were present alongside Balochistan Governor Mandokhail at the departure ceremony in Quetta.
“The Honourable governor and other dignitaries requested special prayers for the prosperity of Pakistan and the continued success of all institutions,” the PAA said.


Pakistan central bank lowers key policy rate to 11%

Pakistan central bank lowers key policy rate to 11%
Updated 8 sec ago
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Pakistan central bank lowers key policy rate to 11%

Pakistan central bank lowers key policy rate to 11%
  • The decision came in the backdrop of soaring tensions with neighboring India following a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir
  • It will be followed by International Monetary Fund’s decision on releasing $1 billion to Islamabad from its $7 billion bailout

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank reduced its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11% on Monday, resuming a series of cuts that brought the rate down from a record high of 22% after a brief pause in March.
Nine of 14 analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the central bank to cuts its key rate, with three expecting a 50 bps cut and two calling for a 100 bps cut.
The decision came in the backdrop of soaring tensions with neighboring India following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. The nuclear-armed neighbors have announced a raft of punitive steps that aim to hurt each other economically.
It also comes ahead of an imminent International Monetary Fund (IMF) decision on releasing Islamabad’s next tranche of $1 billion from its $7 billion bailout program.
The bank had cut the rate by 1,000 basis points since June from an all-time high of 22% before a surprise decision to hold it in March, citing the risk of price rises including from increased US tariffs.
The inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, its lowest in roughly a decade and below finance ministry estimates of 1.5% to 2%. The central bank forecasts average inflation to be in the range of 5.5% to 7.5% for the fiscal year ending June.
Pakistan’s manufacturing sector growth slowed to a seven-month low in April, with the HBL Pakistan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) easing to 51.9 from 52.7 in March, as concerns over global trade weighed due to the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.
New orders slumped while export orders in particular plummeted. Employment fell for a second month as firms cut costs.


‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions

‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions
Updated 05 May 2025
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‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions

‘We are not afraid’: Pakistanis at India-Pakistan border ceremony amid Kashmir tensions
  • Soldiers from both nations perform aggressive marches, avoid traditional handshake as emotions run high over standoff
  • Border crossing closed after attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Pakistan, which denies charge

At the Wagah-Attari border, which marks the final boundary between the nuclear-armed nations of India and Pakistan, the atmosphere is charged with patriotism. The sound of drums can be heard as soldiers perform a choreographed, ceremonial march, showcasing both countries’ pride.
However, the usual symbol of cooperation — a handshake between the two countries’ soldiers — is missing, and the iron gates that separate the two sides remain locked. This is in the context of tense relations between India and Pakistan, heightened by a deadly attack in Kashmir.
Despite the tension, people gather to express their feelings, celebrate their national identities, and watch the dramatic flag-lowering ceremony that has become a symbolic ritual at the border. Visitors on the Pakistani side say they are not afraid of the soaring tensions and for them, it is business as usual.
“We don’t feel any such tension. We feel that we are as safe as we used to be before,” Muhammad Luqman, a Pakistani teacher who was visiting the Wagah border, told AFP.
“The reason for this is that we feel our country’s defense is in strong hands. We don’t have any sort of doubt or fear.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “full operational freedom” to respond to the attack as public anger swelled in his country after New Delhi accused Pakistan of involvement in the April 22 attack that killed 26 tourists. Islamabad has denied the allegations and called for a credible international probe into it.
On Monday, Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days after saying it was preparing for an incursion by India.
The two nuclear-armed countries have exchanged gunfire along their de facto border in Kashmir, and there have been fears that the latest crisis between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, could spiral into a military conflict.
“Pakistan is a brave nation. We live near the Wagah border. If there is any danger, we will be first picked up from the village, then it will be the turn of the people of the city, because we live in the [border] village,” said Muhammad Abu Bakar, a student.
“The villagers should be afraid, but the villagers are not afraid.”
The flare-up between India and Pakistan has once again alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue.


Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals, friendly states as tensions with India simmer over Kashmir

Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals, friendly states as tensions with India simmer over Kashmir
Updated 5 min 8 sec ago
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Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals, friendly states as tensions with India simmer over Kashmir

Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals, friendly states as tensions with India simmer over Kashmir
  • Pakistan-India relations have plummeted since India accused Islamabad of an attack in the disputed Kashmir region that killed 26 tourists on April 22
  • The subsequent diplomatic flare-up, exchanges of gunfire between the two neighbors has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continues to engage foreign capitals and friendly nations as tensions simmer with India over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22, with the two nuclear-armed neighbors taking a raft of punitive measures against each other.

India has blamed Pakistan for the attack in Pahalgam resort town. Islamabad has denied involvement and asked for evidence which New Delhi has so far not publicly shared.  Both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.

Amid soaring tensions, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Pakistan on Monday for discussions on bilateral ties and regional developments, days after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif postponed his scheduled visit to Malaysia.

Separately, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott met Sharif at his office, where the prime minister shared Pakistan’s perspective on the prevailing situation in South Asia. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also on a visit to Gulf countries, including Oman and Qatar, where he is expected to brief the Gulf leaders on Pakistan's stance.

"We will demonstrate patience, we will exercise full restraint and we will not be the first one to take any escalatory move," Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar told reporters in Islamabad, following his meeting with the Iranian FM Araghchi.

"However, if India takes any adventure, any escalatory move, then we will give a befitting reply. So, that's where we stand."

Dar said Pakistan had nothing to do with the Pahalgam incident, reiterating PM Shehbaz Sharif's offer for a credible international probe into the April 22 attack.

"Our offer is very much there," he added.

In his meeting with FM Araghchi, PM Sharif shared Pakistan’s concerns over the prevailing tensions in South Asia as a result of India’s "provocative behavior" since the Pahalgam attack, according to Sharif's office.

"He categorically rejected any attempts to link Pakistan to the incident, without sharing any evidence," Sharif's office said. "He also stressed that India’s weaponization of the Indus Waters Treaty was unacceptable and a redline for the people of Pakistan."

India suspended the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty a day after the Pahalgam attack, saying the suspension would last until "Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism." Pakistan has described the suspension of treat as an "act of war."

The flare-up and exchanges of small arms fire between India and Pakistan across their de facto border in Kashmir has alarmed world and regional powers, who have called for restraint and urged the two neighbors to resolve the crisis through dialogue. Pakistan has assured foreign capitals and friendly nations that it would not be the first one to strike, according to officials.

In his meeting with British High Commissioner Marriott, Sharif urged the United Kingdom, which enjoys good relations with both Pakistan and India, to play its part in de-escalating the situation.

"The British high commissioner thanked the prime minister for sharing Pakistan’s position and said that the UK would work closely with Pakistan and India for maintaining regional peace and security," Sharif's office said.

Also on Monday, Interior Minister Naqvi met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and briefed him on the prevailing regional situation.

"Pakistan has always rejected the policy of aggression. India has been offered an independent and impartial investigation into the Pahalgam incident, the truth about the incident should come before the world as to who is really responsible for it," Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry.

"Making baseless and illogical accusations against Pakistan is tantamount to ignoring our great sacrifices in the war against terrorism."

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations. They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.


Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities

Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities
Updated 05 May 2025
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Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities

Pakistan detects poliovirus in sewage samples from 18 districts including major cities
  • Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi among cities where samples positive
  • Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year, 74 cases were confirmed last year

PESHAWAR: The poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from 18 districts of Pakistan, including major urban cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, the national polio eradication program said on Monday.

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 is essential to provide children high immunity against the disease.

Pakistan has reported seven polio cases so far this year and has planned three major vaccination campaigns in the first half of 2025. Last year, 74 polio cases were confirmed in Pakistan.

“As robust poliovirus surveillance continues in Pakistan, 38 environmental samples collected from 31 districts between Apr. 7-17 were tested at the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication,” the lab said in a statement. 

“The lab confirmed detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in sewage samples of Loralai, Quetta, Zhob, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bannu, DI Khan, Peshawar, Tank, North Waziristan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Badin, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Kashmore, Karachi, and Sukkur.”

A third nationwide campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five is scheduled from May. 26 to June 1.

In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. 

Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams and security guards protecting them.


19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan

19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan
Updated 05 May 2025
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19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan

19 killed after fuel tanker blast in Pakistan
  • Oil tanker caught fire in southwestern Nushki district on April 28
  • Police say investigating possibility of negligence in oil tanker blast 

QUETTA, Pakistan: The death toll from an oil tanker blast in southwest Pakistan jumped to 19, officials said Monday, a week after the incident.

Crowds had gathered to douse the flames of the burning tanker after it pulled over near a market, when it exploded.More than 40 people were injured, many of them transported to the mega city of Karachi for treatment.

“The death toll climbs to 19,” local police official Muhammad Hasan Mengal told AFP.

The incident happened on April 28 in Nushki, a district of Balochistan province. 

He said police were investigating the possibility of negligence.