ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: The first Haj flight of PIA will leave for Jeddah from Peshawar on Wednesday, carrying 270 pilgrims.

NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani will see off the pilgrims at the airport , Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs Vakil Ahmed Khan told APP here on Monday.

The second Haj flight, also carrying around 270 pilgrims, will leave Islamabad for Jeddah on the same date at 2010 hours. Chairman Senate Muhammedmian Soomro has been requested to bid farewell to the pilgrims at the airport.

The secretary said the third flight will airlift 456 intending pilgrims from Karachi at 2330 hours where Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim would see them off.

From Lahore, a Haj flight will carry 433 intending pilgrims on Thursday evening (Dec 16). Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi will be the chief guest at the farewell ceremony at the Lahore airport.

Federal Minister Wasi Zafar and Punjab Provincial Minister Rana Qasim Noon will see off flights from Faisalabad and Multan respectively. Minister for Narcotics Control Ghaus Bux Khan Maher will be requested to bid farewell to the passengers of the first Haj flight from Sukkur in January.

He said Haj flights from Quetta will leave on Dec 16. The secretary said that as many as 444 special Haj flights would be operated from Dec 15 to Jan 15, from eight gateways across the country.

Giving details, he said 67 flights would be operated from Islamabad, 71 from Peshawar, 76 from Lahore, 108 from Karachi, 36 from Quetta, 50 from Multan, 6 from Sukkur and 30 from Faisalabad.

About 97,000 people will perform Haj under the government scheme while 53,000 through the private tour operators this year, he added. Letters indicating flight number, group number, date of reporting at respective Haji camps and return flight number have already been issued to all the intending pilgrims.