JEDDAH, 2 December 2005 — Relatives of people killed in the devastating earthquake that struck Pakistan Oct. 8 will be given a very warm welcome if they perform Haj this year, said Director General Haj Shahid Khan on Wednesday.
“The Pakistan Ministry of Religious Affairs is giving top priority to the kin of quake victims whose Haj applications had been accepted.” Otherwise, the ministry will include applicants whose names were left in the draw, Khan told reporters here. “All Pakistani pilgrims will be issued machine-readable passports (MRPs) so that we can save time at immigration counters. Details of each pilgrim can be obtained on a website that is linked with the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Islamabad,” he said.
A total of 150,000 Pakistani pilgrims will perform Haj this year; 90,000 are government-sponsored while the remaining 60,000 are coming with private tour operators.
Khan said that a total of 465 flights had been scheduled for this year’s Haj. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is operating 432 flights while Saudi Arabian Airlines is operating 33.
The first Haj flight with 465 pilgrims from Islamabad will arrive at the Haj Terminal of King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, on Dec. 3, he said.
This year, 27,000 pilgrims from Karachi and Islamabad will fly directly to Madinah on 54 flights. The first direct Haj flight from Islamabad to Madinah will arrive in the Saudi city on Dec. 5.
The year a code of conduct has been introduced so that no private tour operator can violate the law. The ministry has allowed 317 tour operators to deal with pilgrims. Each operator can carry only 190 pilgrims.
Regarding the condition of buildings, Khan explained, “All residential buildings we hired for pilgrims have been approved by the government.”
All buildings are coded with Green and White and are linked with (GIS) Geographical Information System.
The pilgrims are divided into White and Green categories, according to their distance from the Grand Mosque. Those who are within 1,300 meters of the Grand Mosque are in the White category. The buildings in the Green category are 1,100 meters from the Grand Mosque.
Buildings in Madinah have also been rented, Khan said, adding that 75 percent of those for Pakistani pilgrims are within 770 meters of the Prophet’s Mosque.
The mission has set up well-equipped medical centers in Makkah and Madinah to provide any emergency assistance during Haj. The directorate’s 40-bed main hospital has been set up near Pakistan House in Makkah and is fully equipped to serve pilgrims. Its facilities include male and female wards, death and disease areas, a dental unit, ophthalmology, ENT, an emergency ward, an operation theater, a lab and even an ultrasound unit.
The medical staff will include 260 doctors and nurses.
Speaking about the arrangements for Pakistani pilgrims, Khan said the directorate had divided the Makkah region into eight sectors, each equipped with a dispensary, ambulance service, information department and Internet facility.
A fleet of 16 ambulances to serve the Pakistani pilgrims has been arranged in Makkah and Madinah. Special counters have been set up at Madinah airport and Hijra Road to deal with pilgrims. A 20-bed hospital has been set up in Pakistan House No. 1, Madinah, which is fully equipped with all medical facilities, including an X-ray machine
An information center and a banking office have been set up at Pakistan House. Information regarding pilgrims can be accessed at the following website: www.hajjinfo.org.
Bahrullah Hazarvi, director of Haj, and Muhammad Jameel, press consul, were present.
