Makkah Route expansion top of the agenda as Pakistani minister visits Riyadh

In this file photo, taken and released by the Saudi Press Agency on May 29, 2023, a volunteer guides an elderly pilgrim arriving for Hajj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA/File)

• The country has received a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the next Hajj season, prompting it to make early arrangements
• The caretaker minister is on a week-long visit to the kingdom to meet Saudi officials and interact with Hajj companies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interim religious affairs minister Aneeq Ahmed traveled to Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the expansion of Makkah Route Initiative with Saudi officials ahead of the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage next year, said an official at his ministry.
Pakistan has already received its quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj, prompting the ministry to begin its preparations in advance to facilitate people who plan to undertake their spiritual journey.
Ahmed, who embarked on a week-long visit to the kingdom at the outset of the week, was briefed about the arrangements by the country’s Hajj mission on Tuesday and interacted with companies providing various facilities to pilgrims.
“The minister reached Saudi Arabia on September 18 and will return to Islamabad on September 24,” Muhammad Umer Butt, the spokesperson of the religious affairs ministry, told Arab News.
He added that Ahmed had reached the Saudi capital city to hold separate meetings with the Hajj minister, Dr. Taufig bin Fawzan Al-Rabia, and general secretary of the Muslim World League, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa.
“The minister will discuss with his Saudi counterpart the expansion of the Makkah Route Initiative to Karachi and Lahore along with Islamabad for next year’s Hajj,” he continued.
Saudi Arabia introduced the initiative in Pakistan along with four other countries to provide customs and immigration services to pilgrims at the point of departure to save them substantial time upon arriving in the kingdom.
According to official statistics, more than 26,000 Pakistani pilgrims benefited from the facility at the Islamabad airport this year.
Butt said the Pakistani minister had already met the representatives of catering and accommodation companies for next year’s Hajj, adding that he instructed his team to finalize the agreements as soon as possible to secure lodging facilities for pilgrims at prime locations.
“The Pakistani minister will arrive in Jeddah tomorrow where he will meet representatives of different Saudi companies and officials of the General Authority of Civil Aviation in relation to Hajj,” he added.