Medical Hajj Mission increased to 540

ISLAMABAD: The number of Medical Hajj Mission has been increased from 260 to 540 in order to facilitate the intending pilgrims.

"To provide better services, the Medical Hajj Mission has been increased from 260 to 540, while 230 Khuddam will be selected from Civil Armed Forces and Pakistan Boy Scouts and the number of local Khuddam-ul-Hujjaj will be increased from 250 to 900 subject to availability of resources," said an official of Ministry of Religious Affairs while Talking to APP on Wednesday.

This year, one dispensary will be set up at each residential building acquired for the Hujjaj performing the religious obligation under the government scheme.

The facility, equipped with doctors and paramedical staff, will be functional round-the-clock.

Intending pilgrims belonging to same districts will be accommodated in one flight and one building, he said.

While the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will allot terminals in advance to save the time of the intending pilgrims.

The ministry will also launch an awareness campaign to facilitate the intending pilgrims, Memorandum of Understanding in this regard has already been inked with Radio Pakistan and PTV, he said.

The Ministry is planning country-wide extensive Hajj training programmes to facilitate the intending pilgrims in performing Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia.

This year, the training programmes would be arranged in collaboration with MOSASA, a Saudi organization dealing in Hajj affairs.

Pilgrims would be imparted education to make them familiar with Hajj rituals to be performed during the upcoming Hajj.

Provincial governments will hold training sessions in their respective areas to help specially those who are going to perform this religious obligation for the first time.

At the centres, training will be imparted with the help of models, charts, maps, sketches,lectures and video documentaries. "The intending Hajj pilgrims will be taught that how to wear `Ahram' and observe sanctity of the holy places besides performing rituals at Madina and manners of offering prayers at Masjid-e-Nabvi and `Salam' at Roza-e-Rasool (Peace Be Upon Him),"he said.

The training, informative booklets and Hajj literature will be provided to Hujjaj besides video cassettes to teach them to perform Hajj, he said.

This year intending pilgrims will be directly invited to the airports and not called to Hajji camps.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011