Madinah: Minister Salik Expresses Satisfaction Over Arrangements For Pakistani Hujjaj

Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for extending maximum facilities to Pakistani Hajj pilgrims by the country's Hajj Mission and supporting team

MADINAH al-MUNAWWARAH, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2024) Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for extending maximum facilities to Pakistani Hajj pilgrims by the country's Hajj Mission and supporting team.

"All the team present is working with full dedication. So far, by the grace of Allah Almighty, there is not even a single complaint which the ministry had been receiving in the past," he said.

The minister was talking to media after visiting different sections of the Pakistan Hajj Mission's Main Control Office (MCO), working round-the-clock for facilitation of the guests of Allah Almighty, and getting a briefing from Director Hajj Madina Zia-ur-Rehman.

He said providing accommodation to 100% Pakistani Hujjaj in the Markazia, from where Masjid Nabvi and Roaza-e-Pak (SAW) is hardly a 5-10 minutes walking distance, is one of the big achievements.

He said best quality food was being provided to Pakistani Hujjaj, while a state-of-the-art medical facility, equipped with world-class doctors and paramedics, had been established adjacent to the MCO.

Minister Salik Hussain thanked the Saudi authorities for extending all possible assistance and cooperation to Pakistan in making seamless Hajj arrangements for its citizens. "Our team will stay here until each and every Pakistani does not leave for the homeland after performing the religious obligation of Hajj, safely," he added.

Expressing a strong commitment of the government for facilitation and well-being of Pakistani pilgrims, he said the entire team of Pakistan Hajj would remain active throughout the Hajj operation without repeating mistakes of the past.

Answering a question, the Religious Minister expressed confidence that next year, under the Road to Makkah Initiative, the Hajj flights would also start from Lahore, once a certain number of pilgrims was achieved for including the Lahore airport in the project.

Currently, this facility is available from Islamabad and Karachi airports, under which the Saudi immigration was performed at the designated airports in Pakistan so that Pakistani Hujjaj could be secured from long queues at Saudi airports.

To another question, the minister said all Pakistanis, who are staying, working, or visiting abroad, are ambassadors of Pakistan without any political divide or affiliation.

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, he said, has decided that all organizations of his party working in different countries other than Pakistan would be abolished.

Accordingly, he said, Chaudhry Shujaat has asked him to bring a draft legislation in the Parliament with the objective that "There should be no wing/section of any political party outside the country, as whosoever staying abroad is a Pakistani only."

Commenting on the Hajj package offered by Pakistan to its citizens, he said it was the most cost-effective in the region as the government had made utmost efforts to make it affordable for them.

Earlier, the minister took a round of various sections of the MCO, including the adjoining hospital of Hajj Medical Mission, and found them working and prepared to meet any situation up to the mark.

The minister was accompanied by Additional Secretary Syed Dr Ata-ur-Rehman, Joint Secretary and Director of Facilitation and Coordination (F&C) Ahmed Nadeem Khan, and Director Hajj Madina Zia-ur-Rehman.

Later, Director Hajj Madina Zia-ur-Rehman briefed the minister about the elaborate arrangements made by the Pakistan Hajj Mission and the team of the Religious Affairs Ministry for Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Minister Salik Hussain directed the officials concerned to seek suggestions from Pakistani Hajj pilgrims through the Hajj app so that loopholes, if any, in the arrangements could be removed promptly.

He also asked the officials to ensure due care of all those Pakistani Hajj pilgrims who arrived at the Holy Land under the private scheme to perform Hajj.