Additional Secretary (Incharge), Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Dr Aftab Akbar Durrani said that the necessary IT-based training sessions for the successful Haj applicants have been started in various Haji camps and the inaugural Haj flight will depart from Islamabad from June 06.
Government was making all out-effort to provide complete hajj-related training and facilities to pilgrims so that they could avoid any difficulty in performance of Hajj 2022, he said while speaking to PTV news channel. Social media platforms will be used to guide and train intending pilgrims, he added. Intending pilgrims are guest of Allah Almighty and Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), and therefore all possible efforts would be made to facilitate them in an effective manner, he added. Haji Camps are being established for the facilitation of intending pilgrims and mobile biometric verification will be done in far flung areas of the country, he mentioned. The residences for pilgrims have been hired at lower prices in Makkah and Madina, he said, adding, biometric verification, vaccination and passport scanning of intending pilgrims is free of cost at Etimad centers. The Saudi government has already declared biometric verification essential for all intending Hujjaj and ministry is trying to make it easier for intending pilgrims to have their verification done faster, he added.
The ministry is sending whatsapp presentations, texts and making calls to make the pilgrims aware of the process,” he highlighted. The Pakistani government has chalked out all necessary guidelines with the Saudi government, he said, adding, the Saudi govt had directed all pilgrims to bring a smart/android mobile phone with them and we are paying special attention for the training of Hujjaj. Replying a question, he said hopefully Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Minister for Religious Affairs will see off the intending pilgrims at Islamabad airport on June 6 and all the arrangements including Makkah and Madinah have been reviewed.
