MADINAH AL MUNAWWARAH, May 10(APP):: A month-long pre-Hajj flight operation, which started on May 9, is taking momentum with each passing day as different airlines operated 15 flights in two days to transport around 3,485 Pakistani Hujjaj to Madinah Al Munawwarah in first leg of their spiritual journey to perform Hajj.
Out of these, seven flights have been operated from Islamabad and Karachi under the Road to Makkah project, an initiative of the Saudi government to streamline the immigration process for pilgrims to Makkah.
The initiative, launched in 2019, has so far been implemented in five countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
Under the Road to Makkah initiative, pilgrims are able to complete their immigration requirements at their home country’s airport before they depart for Saudi Arabia. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again.
Currently, only two major airports of Pakistan including Islamabad and Karachi are being operated under the initiatives during the hajj days for facilitation of the pilgrims.
Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has made elaborate arrangements to extend maximum facilities to intending pilgrims both in Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Before start of the pre-Hajj flight operation, the ministry held extensive training sessions for weeks to teach the intending pilgrims about the obligatory acts, aware about necessary information to make their pilgrimage hassle-free, facilities including assistance at airports, transport to residential buildings, three-time meal and medical healthcare.
The Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Madina Airport) on Thursday received all 11 scheduled flights, carrying a total of 2,160 intending Hajj pilgrims from various major cities of Pakistan to the holy land.
“There was a little delay in the departure of Hajj flights from Allama Iqbal International Airport due to a small fire incident. All Hajj flights from Lahore are being operated as per the scheduled days,” Spokesman for the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Muhammad Umar Butt told APP.
The Hajj pilgrims were warmly received by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq, Director General of Hajj Abdul Wahab Soomro, Consul General Khalid Mehmood, Director of Hajj in Madinah Zia-ur-Rehman, Director of Facilitation and Coordination Ahmed Nadeem Khan, Director Moavineen Asghar Yusufza, and Director Hajj Medical Mission Brigadier Jamil Lakhiar.
Filled with excitement and devotion, the pilgrims, who have been preparing for this moment for years, stepped foot in the Prophet’s (SAW) city, marking the beginning of the Hajj season. Approximately three million pilgrims from around the world, including 179,210 Pakistanis, will converge on the holy cities to perform the sacred Hajj.
From the airport, the passengers were transported to residential buildings located in Markazia, just a 15-20-minute walk from Masjid e Nabvi and Roza-e-Rasool (SAW), via luxurious buses.
On first day of the Hajj-flight Operation, Pakistan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq along with the Director General Hajj Abdul Wahab Soomro welcomed the guests of Allah Almighty.
Upon arrival of the intending pilgrims at their residential buildings, gifts and bouquets were presented to the guests of Allah Almighty, extending a traditional welcome with playing ‘Duff’ and singing welcome notes in Arabic language.
Following the arrival of faithful from parts of the world for Hajj, a great rush was witnessed at the Masjid-e-Nabvi (SAW) where pilgrims started gathering at early in the morning for offering Jumma prayer.
This year around three million Muslims are expected to perform the religious obligation of Hajj including 1,79,210 Pakistanis.