Minister says that Pakistani pilgrims will be able to stay near Masjid-e-Nabawi for Hajj in 2023.
Talha Mahmood, the Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, said on Tuesday that Pakistanis who go on Hajj this year will be able to stay near the Masjid-e-Nabawi in Madina.
He said this during a meeting in Madina with Undersecretary of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al-Bijawi.
During the meeting, everyone talked in depth about the future plans for the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Madina, and the sites on the way to Makkah.
Radio Pakistan said that Mahmood said that plans for where pilgrims would stay and eat while they were in Madina would be settled soon.
He also liked how the Saudi Arabian government helped people at the two holiest churches during the holy month of Ramazan.
Separately, the minister told pilgrims to learn how to use the Saudi mobile app “Nusuk” to make nawafil at the Riaz-ul-Jannah of Masjid-e-Nabawi.
He said that work was being done to make sure that half of the people who do Hajj through the “Government Hajj Scheme” make it to Madina before Hajj.
The late minister of religion, Mufti Abdul Shakoor, said last month that 179,210 Pakistani Muslims would go on Hajj this year.
Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan, and Sialkot are all in the northern region. Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan, and Sialkot are all in the southern region.
Hajj 2023 fares unveiled
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had already said that its pre-Hajj operation would begin on May 21 and last until August 12, during which time it would take 38,000 travellers to Saudi Arabia.
According to the PIA Hajj memo, “Pre-Hajj operations will begin from 1st Zilqad to 4th Zilhajj, 1444, which in Gregorian dates is 21st May to 22nd June 2023 (subject to moon sighting).”
The national flag carrier has chosen to charge fares in US dollars for the second year in a row. The prices for pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia under the private Hajj scheme range from $870 to $1180 for the Southern region, which includes Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur, and Hyderabad.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony agreed to give the pilgrims who pay in US dollars a 50% special quota in the Government Hajj Scheme-2023. This led to this decision.
On the other hand, the flights for travellers coming from the north cost between $910 and $1,220. The cities of Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan, and others are all in the northern region.
A full pilgrimage paid for by the government under the Hajj plan would cost Rs1.25 million.