KARACHI: The much-awaited Road to Makkah project for intending pilgrims going to perform Haj from Karachi was finally inaugurated at the Jinnah International Airport on Sunday.

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, along with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Nawaf Bin Said Al Malki and Saudi Passport and Immigration chairman Lt General Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz, inaugurated the project at a ceremony.

Under the project, the intending pilgrims are exempted from the immigration process at Saudi airports as they are being cleared at the Karachi airport by Saudi immigration officials before boarding their flights. However, this facility is only for the pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia under the government-sponsored scheme.

On Sunday, the governor saw off the first batch of pilgrims that cleared Saudi immigration process here under the Road to Makkah project.

He felicitated the Haj pilgrims and presented bouquets to them.

The governor said that the Road to Makkah project was launched a couple of years ago at the Islamabad airport and this year it had also been started from Karachi.

He said that under this facility, the pilgrims will be able to receive their luggage at their hotel in Saudi Arabia after all the necessary clearances from Karachi airport.

He said this year government had ensured minimum expenses for providing facilities to the pilgrims. “The efforts of the government and the religious affairs and interfaith harmony ministry for this purpose are commendable,” he added.

The governor said that all arrangements for Haj were digitised and the “Pak Hajj App” was launched to provide pilgrims with information and training material of all stages of Haj on their mobile phones.

He said that the pilgrims would be able to register their complaints through this app in case of facing any problem.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2024