JEDDAH, 27 November 2006 — The arrival of the first batch of Pakistani pilgrims on Saturday in Jeddah marked the beginning of Haj flights from Pakistan. The first group of 305 pilgrims arrived from Peshawar. Some 21,8751 pilgrims are expected to come for Haj from Peshawar.
A total of 155,000 Pakistani pilgrims will perform Haj this year. Out of them 78,000 will perform Haj under the government’s scheme while 77,000 will perform the pilgrimage under the tour operators’ program.
These pilgrims will come on 463 flights with 10 to 12 flights arriving daily from Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan and Sukkur. The Haj operation will continue for over a month.
The first group of pilgrims was received by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom retired Adm. Shahid Karimullah, at the Jeddah Haj Terminal.
Also present were Consul General Masood Akhtar, Director Haj Bahrullah Hazarvi, General Manager of PIA Talat Omar and other officials of the consulate and Directorate of Haj.
The ambassador presented a bouquet each to the first man and woman pilgrim. He asked them to abide by the Saudi laws and Haj regulations during their stay in the Kingdom and prayed for their peaceful and smooth Haj. The ambassador also cut a cake to mark the arrival of first PIA Haj flight.
