ISLAMABAD: More than 14,500 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have reached the Saudi holy city of Madinah via 60 flights on their way to perform the annual pilgrimage, the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said on Sunday, days after Pakistan launched its Hajj flight operation.
The country launched its Hajj flight operation on April 29 which will continue till May 31. Pilgrims will continue to leave for Madinah during the first 15 days of the operation and afterwards, they will land in Jeddah and travel directly to Makkah.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and 23,620 Pakistanis through private tour operators. The total quota granted to Pakistan was 179,210, which could not be met.
“The arrival of Pakistani Hajj pilgrims in Madinah continues and so far, 14,670 pilgrims have arrived in Madinah via 60 Hajj flights,” Muhammad Umer Butt, who speaks for the Pakistani religious affairs ministry, told Arab News over the phone from Madinah.
Another 2,500 pilgrims will reach the Saudi holy city of Madinah via 11 flights on Sunday, according to Butt. The first groups of Pakistani pilgrims are scheduled to depart for Makkah on May 7 after completing their eight-day stay in Madinah. Departures will follow the sequence of their arrival in the city.
“Under the single-route system, all Pakistani pilgrims arriving in Madinah will travel to Makkah for Hajj and return home via Jeddah, while those flying directly to Makkah will visit Madinah before departing for Pakistan,” he shared.
The Pakistan Hajj mission has arranged accommodations near the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah to facilitate pilgrims in offering voluntary prayers, according to the spokesperson. They are being served food by 13 catering companies, in accordance with Pakistan’s taste and standards.
Pakistani pilgrims praised the arrangements made by the Saudi authorities and the Pakistan Hajj mission.
“It is my first pilgrimage as I have never performed even Umrah before this, but my overall experience remains amazing,” Khurram Ahmed, who hails from Islamabad, told Arab News.
Sajid Ali Channa, an employee of the state-run Pakistan State Oil from Karachi who is performing Hajj for the second time since 2019, described his experience as “entirely new.”
“The Hajj ministry has made tremendous arrangements, and I’ve observed significant improvements, and a clear difference compared to 2019,” he said, adding that catering, transportation, and the problem-solving mechanisms were all functioning efficiently.
Mishkat Rehman, another pilgrim from Karachi who is performing pilgrimage with her family, said they were being provided all facilities.
“We haven’t faced any trouble like long queues at immigration at Karachi airport due to Route to Makkah project and we had a very peaceful travel,” she said.
Pilgrims from across the world are converging in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, which begins on the 8th of Dhu Al-Hijjah, the final month of the Islamic calendar.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan this week decided to close its shipping ports for Indian flag carriers, a statement from the country’s maritime affairs ministry said, as Islamabad’s tensions with New Delhi continue to surge following a deadly attack on tourists. 

The move came hours after India announced on Saturday it had banned the import of goods coming from or transiting via Pakistan and barred Pakistani ships. 

Both nations have taken a raft of measures against each other since Apr. 22, when gunmen killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi pinned the blame on Islamabad, an accusation that Pakistan has vehemently denied and called for a transparent, international probe into the incident. 

Pakistan’s maritime affairs ministry said its decision to ban Indian ships from Pakistani ports has been taken to “safeguard maritime sovereignty, economic interest and national security.”

“Indian Flag Carriers shall not be allowed to visit any Pakistani port,” the statement said. “Pakistani Flag Carriers shall not visit any Indian Port. Any exemption or dispensation shall be examined and decided on case to case basis,” it added.

Trade between India and Pakistan has dwindled over the last few years. India announced on Saturday that it was banning Pakistani ships to ensure the safety of its assets, cargo and connected infrastructure, in the public interest and in the interest of the Indian shipping industry.

Both countries have been trading fire at the Line of Control frontier in Kashmir, which acts as a de facto border between India and Pakistan, for the last 10 days as per international media reports. 

Since gaining independence from British colonial India in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought two out of three wars over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Both countries claim it in full but administer only parts of it. 

The US, China, UK, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Iran and several other nations have called on both nuclear-armed neighbors recently to de-escalate tensions and avoid a military standoff. 

Pakistan has vowed it would issue a “strong” response if the Indian military attacks. India’s PM Narendra Modi this week gave his country’s military “operational freedom” to respond to the Apr. 22 attack.