ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has successfully completed post-Hajj activities for 2024, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced on Sunday, with over 160,000 pilgrims from across the country performing the annual Islamic pilgrimage this year.
Of the total 179,210 pilgrims in Pakistan, around 160,000 performed Hajj this year through both government schemes and private tour operators. The annual Islamic pilgrimage took place from June 14 to 19, with millions of pilgrims arriving in Saudi Arabia from around the world.
Senior Joint Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) Dr Mirza Ali Mehsud, in a statement on Sunday, congratulated the Pakistani pilgrims on their safe return and completion of Hajj rituals. He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Religious Affairs officials, Hajj Moavineen (assistants) and Pakistan Hajj Medical Mission for their tireless efforts in supporting the pilgrims in the post-Hajj phase.
“The Moabieneen and Ministry staff, consisting of officials and employees from grades 7 to 21, are deployed to serve the Guests of Allah in the holy cities of Makkah and Medina,” said Dr. Mehsud. “They are expected to look after the Guests of Allah. They should avoid arrogance, status and authority while serving the Guests of Allah.”
The MoRA official said the duty of serving pilgrims should be taken as a “rank-less” task, adding that one never knows when such an opportunity will come along and so one should make the most of it.
Madinah Hajj Director Zia-ur-Rehman said the MoRA had provided food, accommodation and transportation facilities to the Pakistani pilgrims and hailed the success of the operation.
“He pointed out that due to demolition and new construction work, it was very difficult to secure accommodation in Markazia, Madina, but with our efforts we were able to arrange accommodation for all the Pakistani pilgrims in Markazia, which is a great achievement,” MoRA said. Rehman revealed that 66,000 Pakistani pilgrims visited Riaz al-Jannah, located between the pulpit and tomb of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Madina.
MoRA said that for this Hajj, it has introduced several new initiatives such as launching the Pakistan Hajj App, free SIM cards for pilgrims and appointment of qualified Hajj Moavineen who have passed the National Testing Services (NTS) exam. He said these initiatives have greatly helped Pakistani pilgrims in their holy journey.
“Deputy Director General Jamil-ur-Rehman hailed the Pakistan Hajj App as a successful and unique initiative that maintains continuous communication between pilgrims and the ministry,” the statement said. “The app has immensely helped pilgrims in their journey by providing access to complaints, training materials, accommodation details, flight schedules and other services.”
Mustaq Asghar, another MoRA official, said 36,900 complaints have been received through the Pak Hajj app, of which 34,979 have been resolved.
