A 14-member delegation from Saudi Arabia's interior ministry is due in Islamabad on Monday to review arrangements related to 'Road to Makkah' project. The project is initiated to assist Hajj pilgrims wherein all immigration requirements will be fulfilled at the airport of origin.
At present, the facility is only available at Karachi airport where pilgrims go through the immigration and customs checking once and then they would not have to pass through the same process after landing at airports in Saudi Arabia. After the agreement, 90 per cent of Pakistani pilgrims will be able to go through customs and immigration processes at the airports of Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar before departing for Hajj, instead of having to wait for 10-12 hours after arriving in Saudi Arabia, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs said.
The high-level Saudi delegation will be briefed at the Islamabad International Airport by officials from Customs, Civil Aviation Authority, the Anti-Narcotics Force and the interior and foreign ministries. They will also review arrangements made at the airports in Lahore and Peshawar. The project also includes other Muslim countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia.
Recent meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman brought good news for Pakistani Hajj pilgrims on Saturday as Hajj pilgrims will get their immigration clearance now at the airport before departing for Saudi Arabia.
According to a private television channel report Saturday, Hajj pilgrims will have their immigration done at the airports in Pakistan now for which 14-member Saudi delegations will fly to Pakistan to review the arrangements at four different airports.
High level Saudi delegations will fly to Pakistan on April 1. They will also review plans about making "Road to Makkah" successful. It was an accomplishment of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud's visit to Pakistan where PM Imran Khan discussed about the pre-clearance process with him.