KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the religious affairs ministry to begin preparations for the 2026 Hajj immediately, while calling for urgent reforms to the country’s private Hajj scheme following a situation that left thousands of pilgrimage slots unused this year.

Pakistan received a quota of 179,210 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2025, which was evenly divided between the government and private Hajj operators.

While the government filled its full allocation of over 88,000 pilgrims, a major portion of the private quota remained unutilized due to delays by companies in meeting payment and registration deadlines.

Private operators, however, blamed the situation on technical glitches such as payment issues and communication breakdowns.

“Preparations for next year’s Hajj operation must begin immediately,” the prime minister said, according to a statement released by his office.

“The operational plan should be developed in accordance with the Hajj policy issued by Saudi Arabia,” he continued. “No negligence in serving pilgrims next year will be tolerated.”

Sharif also emphasized the need to “regularize” the private Hajj scheme.

Previously, Pakistan’s religious affairs minister, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, had confirmed that over 67,000 private-sector slots went unused, despite a last-minute effort to reclaim some of the allocation.

The shortfall prompted criticism and concerns over regulation and the capacity of private Hajj companies.

The prime minister has also asked the religious affairs ministry to submit a detailed Hajj action plan with clear deadlines and start preparing for next year’s Islamic pilgrimage.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said this week it was “very normal” for Islamabad to share battlefield intelligence with close ally China in the aftermath of last month’s brief but intense military confrontation with India, though he downplayed suggestions Beijing played a direct operational role or provided decisive satellite support during the aerial fight.

The May 7–10 conflict — the heaviest fighting in decades — has drawn significant interest from Western militaries, security observers and diplomats, who see it as a rare opportunity for China to study the performance of Indian pilots, fighter jets, air defense systems and air-to-air missiles in real combat conditions.

With Beijing locked in its own longstanding border disputes and strategic rivalry with New Delhi, analysts believe any Pakistani data trove could sharpen China’s military readiness.

China is already Pakistan’s principal supplier of military hardware, providing fighter jets, missiles, submarines and surveillance technology. The two neighbors share a strategic alliance driven in part by their disputes with India, which has fought wars with both nations. Close economic and security ties, anchored by the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has further strengthened the relationship.

“It is very normal if we are sharing any information which we have which can threaten us or the Chinese because the Chinese also have problems with India,” Asif told Arab News in an interview this week when questioned if Pakistan was sharing intelligence with Beijing on Indian use of air defenses and launches of cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as command and control information.

“I think it’s very natural if we share intelligence which is gathered through satellites or gathered through other means.”

In the military confrontation that began on May 7, Indian fighter jets bombed what New Delhi called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan in response to an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.

Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir assault but retaliated to the Indian airstrikes with tit-for-tat military action that involved fighter jets, drones, missiles and artillery. A ceasefire was brokered by the US and announced on May 10.

Pakistan said its Chinese jets shot down at least six Indian military planes, including three French-made Rafales, during the four days of clashes. General Anil Chauhan, India’s chief of defense staff, has admitted that an unspecified number of its jets were lost.

‘MADE IN PAKISTAN’ VICTORY
The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) says China now operates at least 115 satellites dedicated to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and 81 for monitoring military electronic and signals data, a network second only to the United States and far ahead of India’s capabilities.
According to two Islamabad-based Western diplomats involved in the May ceasefire negotiations and one Pakistani security official, all of whom requested anonymity, 44 of these satellites were at Pakistan’s disposal during the conflict with India. The Western officials suggest the Chinese satellite and signals intelligence may have assisted Pakistan in monitoring Indian troop and missile movements during the air war, possibly giving Pakistan a real-time edge.

The Pakistani defense minister rejected the claims.

“You are underestimating the ability of our armed forces,” Asif said, cautioning against downplaying Pakistan’s own capabilities in electronic warfare and precision targeting.

Asked directly about the use of Chinese satellite capabilities for any kind of support during the fighting, the defense chief said:

“I don’t know and I don’t think so … We are very advanced as far as this warfare is concerned … China’s help is always, always very valuable … but this fight was Pakistani, the victory is ‘Made in Pakistan’.”

He also denied that Chinese personnel were able to monitor the fighting in real time or access Pakistan Air Force monitoring systems during the May 7–10 period.

“No, I don’t think so they had any access. They were watching the situation very closely, as a neighbor, as a friend,” Asif said. “But I’ll again assert that this war was fought by our boys and girls.”

While Asif noted that Pakistan sourced most of its military hardware — including submarines, aircraft and weapons — from China, as well as some from Turkiye, the United States and European countries, he maintained that the actual fighting remained fully under Pakistani command.

“So, in that backdrop [of China being a major defense supplier], you can always speculate that China was very helpful to us in this conflict,” he said. “But physical participation or participation through satellites or through other means, I don’t think so.”

China has been Pakistan’s closest defense partner since the 1960s and the Pakistan Air Force operates a fleet of Chinese JF-10C multirole fighters, and JF-17 Thunder planes, jointly developed and assembled in Pakistan to reduce dependence on Western defense equipment.

After the India standoff, Beijing is also widely reported to be fast-tracking the sale of fifth-generation J-35 stealth jets to Islamabad, potentially giving Pakistan deep-strike capabilities into Indian airspace.

Asked if the J-35 jets would be delivered in 2026 as suggested in recent media reports, Asif responded:

“I think it’s only in the media, you know. It’s only in the media and it’s good for sales, Chinese defense sales.”

NUCLEAR ALERT POSTURE?

A full-scale war between India and Pakistan — both nuclear powers — remains one of the most dangerous strategic flashpoints in the world. Experts have long warned that even limited, high-intensity skirmishes run the risk of unintended escalation toward nuclear war.

Asked if last month’s clash had triggered any consideration of moving to a nuclear alert posture, Asif was categorical:

“No… Absolutely, with certainty I can say that.”

He also dismissed the idea that Pakistan had considered launching a broader conventional offensive across the border, saying modern warfare was no longer dependent on crossing territorial lines:

“Now you don’t have to cross the border. You don’t have to capture the territory. Capturing territory or crossing over... that is something which is obsolete. War is being fought now... cyber.”

The defense minister also said there had been no back-channel diplomacy between Islamabad and New Delhi following the May 10 ceasefire, although military operations heads in both countries had been in contact via a hotline.

And while the Pakistan-India clash may have faded from global headlines amid the ongoing crisis between Israel and Iran in the Middle East, Asif said India remained Pakistan’s most pressing security concern.

“We have been on alert so we have not lowered guards, that I can confirm,” the defense minister said, particularly due to concerns Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could resort to fresh military action as he was under pressure from a public questioning how Pakistani forces struck military facilities deep inside the country and downed Indian jets.

Modi also has domestic political pressures to manage ahead of elections in Bihar, a pivotal swing state that is crucial for both national and state-level power equations.

“Modi has internal compulsions to avenge [the May conflict] … There are elections around the corner… and his popularity has plummeted, his political opponents can smell blood, politically,” Asif said.

“That can drive him to some desperate measures, otherwise, I don’t think so there is a possibility of some replay of what happened a month back.”