ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday announced that he and his counterparts in and Iran and Iraq will form a trilateral working group to prevent illegal migration under the guise of pilgrimage, according to Radio Pakistan.

Earlier this month, the government, during a meeting, decided that under the new measures, the traditional Salar System for zaireen (pilgrims) will be abolished and replaced with a zaireen group organisers model. From 2026 onwards, pilgrims will only be allowed to travel under registered organisers.

Speaking at a trilateral conference of the interior ministers of Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq in Tehran, Mr Naqvi told journalists the conference agreed to take all possible measures to facilitate zaireen travelling to Iran and Iraq.

“We had a great and good discussion,” Mr Naqvi said. “We will have a joint working group between the three countries so we can have better coordination.

Naqvi says trilateral working group in the offing

“The most important thing to acknowledge is that there are several million people who go to Iraq, and this is a big credit for the Iraqi interior ministry. Every year, they host them without flaw and every year it gets much better.”

The working group, comprising representatives from all three countries would be established to streamline and support the process of travel for pilgrimages, Dawn.com reported

During the trilateral conference, Mr Naqvi said that the registration process for zaireen group organisers has already commenced.

He said from January 1 next year, Pakistani zaireen will travel to Iraq exclusively under registered group organisers, rather than individually.

“We will not be allowing any Pakistani to leave Iraq without zaireen group organisers,” Mr Naqvi said. “We will be registering people who are allowed to take the groups to Iraq and they are bound to bring back all the people who are going with them.”

According to the interior minister, these groups will be responsible for ensuring the safe return of pilgrims travelling to Iraq.

“Only individuals issued a special visa by the embassy will be permitted to travel independently,” he added.

“The illegal issue that Iraq is facing, people who are overstaying there … who have started working there, we need to stop this. I am totally against all those who are staying illegally.”

Mr Naqvi said Iraq and Iran are fully aligned with Pakistan’s new system and reaffirmed their commitment to jointly curbing irregular travel and overstays.

He also assured his counterparts of Islamabad’s full cooperation in matters concerning zaireen.

He expressed gratitude to the governments of Iraq and Iran for their continued care and support of Pakistani pilgrims, who “number in the millions”.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2025