Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony managed to increase the country’s Hajj quota from 184,210 to 200,000 pilgrims in 20l9, enabling more Pakistanis to perform Hajj. According to the one year performance report of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government shared by Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the ministry convinced Saudi Arabia to include Pakistan in Road to Makkah project, under which immigration and customs facilitation to Hajis was provided at the Islamabad airport. Earlier, a Haji (pilgrim) had to wait four to five hours to clear their customs and immigration services at the Jeddah airport.
The ministry also introduced E-Visa facility for pilgrims for the first time. The process for Hajj visa fixation were now performed electronically in the ministry. Earlier all passports were sent to the embassy of Kingdom of Saudia Arabia for fixing Hajj visa. The ministry also introduced direct Hajj flights from Quetta Airport to Jeddah/Madina. Earlier the Hujjaj of Balochistan had to take connecting flights from Quetta to Jeddah/Madina.
