Pakistan establishes main control office in Mina to facilitate Hajj pilgrims

The still image taken from a video on June 26, 2023, shows Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs has established its Main Control Office in Mina, Saudi Arabia to facilitate Pakistani Hajj pilgrims. ( Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs)
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Updated 26 June 2023
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Pakistan establishes main control office in Mina to facilitate Hajj pilgrims

  • The control office includes information, lost and found cells and various other specialized desks 
  • Pakistan’s religion minister thanks Saudi counterpart for exemplary arrangement for the pilgrims

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs has established its Main Control Office in Mina, Saudi Arabia to facilitate Pakistani Hajj pilgrims, it said on Monday, as millions converged on the tent city to perform the annual pilgrimage. 

Millions of pilgrims arrived at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Sunday to perform Tawaf Al-Qudum as the biggest annual pilgrimage in several years began. It is the first tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba) that pilgrims undertake after assuming the state of ihram. 

On the 8th of Dul Hijjah, known as the Day of Tarwiyah, pilgrims embark on the journey to Mina and spend an entire day and night, utilizing this time to prepare themselves mentally and physically for the profound spiritual experience that awaits them at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is believed to have delivered his final sermon. 

The Pakistani religious affairs ministry said it established the control office in Mina with the primary aim of providing comprehensive assistance and facilitation to Pakistanis performing the annual pilgrimage. 

“To ensure the smooth flow of information and communication, an Information Cell has been set up within the MCO,” the Pakistani ministry said in a statement. 

“Additionally, a dedicated Lost and Found Cell has been established to help pilgrims retrieve any misplaced belongings. Monitoring Cell has been put in place to closely monitor and address any potential issues of the private pilgrims.” 

Various other specialized units, such as a Wheelchair Desk, have been set up to cater to the specific needs of different groups of pilgrims, according to the ministry. 

It said the establishment of these facilities reflected the commitment to enhancing the Hajj experience and providing a comfortable, hassle-free environment to all Pakistani pilgrims. 

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage includes series of rites completed over four days in Makkah and its surroundings in the west of Saudi Arabia. 

This year, Saudi Arabia reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65 in January. About 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims are expected to perform the pilgrimage under the government scheme this year, and the rest have been facilitated by private tour operators. 

Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Talha Mahmood, who is in Saudi Arabia, also held a meeting with Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fawzan on Sunday. 

Mahmood appreciated the Hajj arrangements made by the Saudi authorities for the pilgrims and invited the Saudi minister to visit Pakistan. 

“The Saudi minister of Hajj and Umrah expressed his love for Pakistan and promised to visit the country soon,” Mahmood’s ministry said. 


Pakistan’s deputy PM discusses trans-Afghan railway with Uzbek foreign minister

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Pakistan’s deputy PM discusses trans-Afghan railway with Uzbek foreign minister

  • Envisioned in 2021, the project is expected to improve trade relations among all three countries
  • Ishaq Dar discusses the modalities for early finalization of the project’s framework agreement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held a phone call with his Uzbek counterpart on Saturday to discuss steps toward advancing the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) railway project, including the framework agreement and its signing mechanism, said the foreign office.

The UAP railway is a trilateral initiative aimed at enhancing regional connectivity by linking Central Asia with Pakistan’s southern ports of Gwadar and Karachi through Afghanistan.

Envisioned in 2021, the project is expected to improve trade access for landlocked countries and bolster economic integration in the region.

“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50, held a telephone conversation today with Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister, Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich @FM_Saidov,” the foreign office said in a social media post on X.

“They discussed the modalities for early finalization of the framework agreement for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Line Project, including details of its signing ceremony in consultation with leadership of Afghanistan,” it added.

The conversation came a day after Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to upgrade diplomatic relations, with Islamabad announcing it would elevate its chargé d’affaires in Kabul to ambassadorial rank. Kabul said it would reciprocate the move.

Ties between the two countries have been tense in recent years, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan’s Taliban administration of harboring militants involved in cross-border attacks, leading to a deportation drive against undocumented Afghan nationals.

The Taliban have denied facilitating any violence inside Pakistan and criticized the deportations.

Efforts to ease tensions between the two neighboring countries also gained momentum in recent months. During a trilateral meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing, Pakistan and Afghanistan announced plans to exchange ambassadors.

Afghan authorities have also said Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is due to visit Pakistan “in the coming days.”

The UAP railway, first agreed in February 2021, envisions a 573-kilometer track linking Tashkent to Peshawar via Kabul, with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion.

The project faces significant logistical challenges, including security concerns in Afghanistan and the need to reconcile different railway gauges across the three countries.

However, Pakistan has already sent agricultural consignments to Uzbekistan last year. 

Implementation of the UAP railway is expected to further deepen trade ties among the three nations.


Pakistan concludes pre-Hajj flight operation with over 115,000 pilgrims flown to Saudi Arabia

Updated 43 min 41 sec ago
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Pakistan concludes pre-Hajj flight operation with over 115,000 pilgrims flown to Saudi Arabia

  • The country launches special Hajj flight operation each year to assist pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia
  • The operation involves multiple airlines and serves pilgrims under both government and private schemes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has successfully concluded its 33-day pre-Hajj flight operation, with more than 115,000 pilgrims transported to Saudi Arabia ahead of this year’s pilgrimage, the state media reported on Saturday.

The country arranges special Hajj flights annually to facilitate thousands of Pakistani Muslims traveling to the Kingdom for the pilgrimage. The operation involves both government and private schemes, as well as coordination with multiple airlines to ensure smooth transit.

The final flight, PK-759 from Karachi, carrying 307 pilgrims, landed in Jeddah at 6:55 PM local time, the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency said.

“Under the Government Hajj Scheme, as many as 88,260 intending pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia via 342 flights from various cities of Pakistan,” APP quoted the religious affairs ministry spokesperson, Muhammad Umar Butt, as saying.

“Similarly, over 27,000 [pilgrims] arrived in the holy land under the Private Hajj Scheme,” he added.

The Hajj flights were operated by a range of air carriers including Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, SereneAir, Airblue and AirSial.

The spokesperson said to support the pilgrims during the five key days of Hajj, the ministry has deployed approximately 470 coordinators, with each assigned to a group of 188 to 200 pilgrims.

Each coordinator will remain with their designated group throughout the pilgrimage, helping its members during the journey from Mina to Arafat, Muzdalifah, Jamarat and back to Makkah.

This year, Hajj rituals will commence on June 4, with the Day of Arafah on June 5, and Eid Al-Adha observed on June 6 in Saudi Arabia.


Pakistan says 96% of children vaccinated in ongoing anti-polio drive

Updated 31 May 2025
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Pakistan says 96% of children vaccinated in ongoing anti-polio drive

  • Pakistan launched the campaign after 74 children were diagnosed with polio last year
  • Balochistan offered swings and camel rides in Quetta to draw children for vaccination

KARACHI: Polio vaccinations continued across Pakistan for the sixth consecutive day on Saturday, with 96% of targeted children receiving doses during the first five days of the campaign, the country’s National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement.

Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic, alongside neighboring Afghanistan.

Efforts to eliminate the disease have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on polio workers by militant groups.

In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted during these campaigns.

“During the first five days, 96% of children across the country have been administered polio drops,” the NEOC said at the start of the campaign’s sixth day.

“The vaccination campaign is underway simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” it continued, adding this was to curb cross-border transmission of the virus, especially in frontier regions where mobility between the two countries remains high.

According to Pakistani officials, the current vaccination drive aims to reach more than 45 million children nationwide. It is part of Pakistan’s intensified response following a sharp uptick in cases last year, when 74 children were diagnosed with the crippling virus.

Ten cases have been reported so far in 2025, prompting authorities to step up outreach and door-to-door campaigns.

According to the NEOC, provincial breakdowns so far show 97% coverage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 96% in both Punjab and Balochistan, 94% in Sindh, 98% in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 101% in Gilgit-Baltistan, where more children were reached than initially estimated.

Islamabad reported 97% coverage.

In Balochistan, the country’s most underdeveloped province that reported 27 cases last year, local authorities introduced recreational activities such as free swings and camel rides in Quetta to attract children and facilitate their vaccination.

The effort drew large crowds, allowing teams to immunize children while they took part in the festivities.

“This initiative is critically important as we enter the high-transmission season,” said Ziaur Rehman, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Polio Program. “It will play a key role in timely containment of the virus.”

He urged parents to ensure that all children under five receive polio drops to protect them from lifelong disability.


PM Sharif announces 25% federal development share for insurgency-hit Balochistan

Updated 31 May 2025
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PM Sharif announces 25% federal development share for insurgency-hit Balochistan

  • The prime minister calls for efforts to bring back ‘misguided’ individuals who have joined militant groups
  • He recognizes Balochistan’s history of economic deprivations but says ‘terrorists’ know nothing but brutality

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan will receive 25% share from the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) in the upcoming budget, as the government continues to grapple with a decades-long separatist insurgency that has surged in recent years.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, is strategically significant as the centerpiece of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major infrastructure development and regional connectivity initiative linking western China to the Arabian Sea.

While the state touts CPEC as a game-changer for the region’s development, Baloch separatist groups accuse the government of exploiting the province’s vast mineral resources without benefiting the local population. Officials reject the narrative, pointing to ongoing investments in various sectors aimed at improving livelihoods.

Sharif announced the allocation while addressing a grand jirga, an assembly of provincial elders and influential figures alongside top military leadership, in Quetta, where he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to Balochistan’s development.

“I think that PSDP will be of Rs1,000 billion [in the next budget],” he told the gathering. “So, out of this [amount], a fund of approximately Rs250 billion is for Balochistan alone. That is, 25% of the total federal PSDP for Balochistan.”

The PSDP is Pakistan’s central development program used to fund infrastructure, energy, education and other long-term public investment projects across the country.

It includes both federal initiatives and financial support for provincial projects, particularly in underdeveloped regions like Balochistan.

The prime minister said the allocation was the province’s “right.”

“Along with this,” he continued, “these resources should be used transparently, whether it is Gwadar, whether it is Pasni, whether it is Chaman, whether it is Killa Saifullah, whether it is Quetta, whether it is Jhal Magsi or any other areas,” he continued. “Every single penny there should be used honestly for the development and prosperity of the people.”

Addressing the challenge of militancy in the province, Sharif said efforts must continue to bring back “misguided” individuals who had joined militant groups.

He acknowledged Balochistan’s history of economic deprivation, while reiterating that those engaged in violence offer no solutions.

“Terrorists do not know anything but brutality,” he said.

Calling for national unity, Sharif maintained: “Let’s sit together and talk. It is only by sitting together that a family becomes strong and prosperous. No evil eye can harm a united household.”


Pakistan to set up maritime chamber to boost blue economy, promote greener ports

Updated 31 May 2025
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Pakistan to set up maritime chamber to boost blue economy, promote greener ports

  • Maritime minister says new chamber will unite industry to drive sustainable growth and long-term economic resilience
  • Pakistan aims to grow its blue economy through sustainable use of ocean resources for jobs and ecosystem health

KARACHI: The Pakistan government on Saturday announced the creation of a new Maritime Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) to promote sustainable development in the country’s coastal and marine sectors, saying the initiative would help strengthen the country’s blue economy while addressing rising climate risks at its ports.

Addressing the Pakistan Business Council Forum, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said Pakistan’s coastal zones were increasingly exposed to environmental challenges such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events and marine degradation.

The new chamber, he noted, would serve as a specialized platform for uniting stakeholders from across the maritime spectrum to pursue greener policies and long-term economic resilience.

“This chamber will not only support investment and innovation in the maritime sector but also prioritize sustainability at ports, promote green technologies and foster carbon reduction strategies,” he told the participants of the forum.

Pakistan is striving to strengthen blue economy by ensuring the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, jobs and ecosystem health.

This requires the authorities to enhance the potential of its ports, fisheries, logistics and marine services while reducing environmental harm.

The new chamber is expected to provide a unified institutional voice for sectors ranging from shipping to coastal tourism, helping to align business incentives with climate adaptation goals.

Pakistan has been pushing to modernize its port infrastructure and expand its role in regional trade by improving cargo handling, digitalizing port operations and encouraging public-private partnerships.

The country has also invited landlocked Central Asian states to use its ports to access global markets, aiming to position itself as a regional trade hub.

The Pakistan Business Council welcomed the announcement, calling the new chamber a critical step toward building a climate-resilient and economically vibrant maritime economy.