ISLAMABAD: Senator Talha Mehmood, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, stated that despite challenges, efforts are still being made to give pilgrims the best possible accommodations during the Hajj of 2023. due to the significant amount of time that has already been lost, expressing concerns about important issues with the Hajj arrangements. The Saudi authorities, with whom he recently met and received assurances of support to ensure Hajj is successful, are working closely with him to find solutions to these issues, he expressed optimism. He claimed in an interview with APP that the majority of the arrangements could have been completed by the end of Ramadan ul Mubarak, but that this was not the case.
The major issue was a dearth of foreign exchange.
The foreign exchange payable to Saudi authorities was not paid on time. However, he was optimistic that the issues will be resolved with the teamwork of the ministry officials.
He said nearly 40,000 intending pilgrims would depart for Saudia from Islamabad airport under the Road to Makkah initiative this year.
Under the Road to Makkah project, all immigration requirements of pilgrims are to be fulfilled at the Islamabad Airport. This saves pilgrims several hours upon reaching the kingdom since they can just enter the country, having gone through immigration already at home.
The minister raised concerns about the performance of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and has called upon the chief executive officer (CEO) of the national carrier to address the issues. The CEO has promised to cooperate and ensure timely transportation of passengers. Additionally, the ministry is making efforts to arrange accommodations close to Haram Sharif.
The speaker expressed a willingness to disclose the names of catering companies to the media and warned that penalties would be imposed if quality food are not provided to pilgrims. Talha Mehmood said well-trained and physically fit Moavineen are being finalized transparently. A comprehensive training program has also been arranged for Hujjaj and Moavineen which will start on Monday.
They emphasized the importance of transparency in hajj arrangements and pledged to closely monitor the Moavineen-e-Hujjaj.
If Moavineen-e-Hujjaj fails to perform their duties, they will be issued warning letters and face the deduction of TAs and DAs for three days. If dereliction of duties persists, the person responsible will be blacklisted.
