ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The PIA on Wednesday completed its pre-Haj operation as its last Haj flight with 435 intending pilgrims on board left here for Jeddah. Overall 150,000 intending Haj pilgrims have been airlifted by PIA to Jeddah and Madina in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Airlines by 463 special Haj flights. Ninety thousand pilgrims have proceeded to holy land under the regular haj scheme while 60,000 have gone under private haj scheme.

PIA operated special direct haj flights for Jeddah and Madina from Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta while it operated indirect haj flights from Multan, Faisalabad and Sukkur also. It is for the first time that over 26,000 pilgrims have gone directly to Madina-tul-Munnawara from Pakistan.

Ministry of Religious Affairs has made elaborate arrangements for the accommodation and transportation of the pilgrims at Mekkah and Madina besides providing health-care facilities to them.—Reporter