Latest news with #PakistaniPilgrims
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Missiles in the sky, prayers in their hearts: Pakistanis recount perilous journey home from Iran
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of Pakistani pilgrims, students and workers have finally made it back home from Iran this week, telling stories of tense roads, sleepless nights and missiles flashing overhead as the conflict between Israel and Iran pushes the region to the brink of wider war. A week of Israeli air and missile strikes against its major rival that started on June 13 has wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command, damaged its nuclear capabilities and killed hundreds of people, while Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed two dozen civilians in Israel. In the immediate aftermath of Friday's attacks, Iran closed its airspace to commercial traffic, leaving hundreds of expats, including Pakistani pilgrims, students and workers, stranded. For Hassan Raza, a 22-year-old student at Al-Mustafa International University in Qom, the abrupt closure of the skies turned an ordinary day into a marathon journey through the heart of a country on edge. 'When Israel attacked Iran on 13th June, I was at Tehran International Airport, and after a few moments, all flights were canceled and we entered Pakistan from the border of Rimdan by road,' Raza told Arab News on Wednesday in a telephone interview. Pakistan and Iran share a 909-kilometer (565-mile) border, which separates Balochistan from the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan. Forced to abandon plane tickets, many stranded Pakistanis like Raza pooled resources to travel by bus, heading south from Tehran toward the remote border at Rimdan. The bus route took Raza and his group past Natanz, a name known worldwide for being the site of Iran's main uranium enrichment facilities and one of the prime targets of repeated Israeli attacks since Friday. 'We passed by Natanz, which is a nuclear power plant in Iran and has been targeted multiple times by Israel,' Raza said. As they continued, they witnessed firsthand the flashes and arcs of missiles fired in retaliation. 'We saw that many missiles were launched from Iran toward Israel and made videos of this as well,' he said. 'After 20 to 22 hours, we reached the Rimdan border crossing and entered Pakistan.' Along the road journey, Raza added, despite the echo of distant missile exchanges, daily life seemed remarkably calm. 'JUST IN TIME' Syed Nadeem Abbas Shirazi, a pilgrim from Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab province, had arrived in Mashhad, a sacred city for Shiite Muslims, to visit holy shrines when the attack threw the region into uncertainty. 'When Iran was attacked, I was in Mashhad. We went out and interacted with the local people, and they showed no signs of fear. In fact, they were very emotional,' Shirazi said. 'They were chanting slogans against Israel and the United States, and many said they had no fear of martyrdom, they desired it,' he added. As the situation remained tense, Shirazi and his group decided to return by road rather than wait for flights to resume. 'From Mashhad, we boarded a bus at 1pm and reached Chabahar at noon the next day,' he said. The group then hired a taxi for the final stretch to the Pakistan border near Gwadar. For others, the trip home meant navigating jam-packed highways and rationed fuel in a country bracing for more strikes. Syed Ali Hassan, an electrician from Layyah who worked near Tehran, said he felt the atmosphere change instantly when the attacks began on Friday. 'People were not openly panicking, but you could feel the fear in the air, everyone seemed to be preparing for the worst,' Hassan said. Amid the quiet fear, Hassan and a handful of other Pakistanis found a bus heading west toward the Taftan border in Pakistan's Balochistan province. 'The journey wasn't easy. Highways were packed with vehicles, fuel stations had long lines, and we traveled all night with brief stops, mostly in silence,' he said. Some passengers were worried about possible airstrikes or roadblocks, but the group managed to reach the border without incident. At Taftan, exhausted and emotionally drained, many Pakistanis breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped back onto home ground. 'It felt like we had made it out just in time,' Hassan said.
Arab News
10-06-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan hails 2025 Hajj as ‘historic' after winning Saudi award for best services
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Wednesday described the 2025 Hajj as 'historic compared to previous years' for Pakistani pilgrims, citing improved services, enhanced facilities and formal recognition from Saudi authorities for the country's pilgrimage management. Addressing a post-Hajj press conference in Makkah, the minister said Pakistan's Hajj Mission had received an Excellence Award from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, ranking first among the seven missions honored this year, in recognition of its services to over 115,000 Pakistani pilgrims. 'The 2025 Hajj was historic compared to previous years, and Pakistani pilgrims were provided exceptional services and facilities,' Yousaf said. 'This award from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is a matter of pride for Pakistan.' Saudi Arabia hosted over 88,000 government-sponsored Pakistani pilgrims this year, he said, noting that for the first time, air-conditioned tents, gypsum board partitions, sofa-cum-beds and overhead shelves were introduced in Mina. Facilities at Arafat also included enhanced air-conditioning, shaded walkways and grassy areas. Yousaf said pilgrims in the lowest payment category were offered services typically reserved for higher-tier packages. He maintained the Hajj package for government-sponsored pilgrims remained more affordable than those offered in neighboring countries, while offering superior services. In Madinah, all Pakistani pilgrims were housed in three- and five-star hotels near the Prophet's Mosque and given the opportunity to visit Riyaz-ul-Jannah. To improve coordination, Pakistan introduced a 'Nazim Scheme' for the first time, assigning a group leader to every 188 pilgrims. More than 400 medical professionals were also deployed to ensure health care services for pilgrims. Yousaf appreciated the Pakistani pilgrims for their cooperation and adherence to Saudi guidelines during the pilgrimage.
Arab News
04-06-2025
- General
- Arab News
Pilgrims arrive at Mina as annual Hajj rituals begin
ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, including Pakistanis, have started arriving at Mina, marking the beginning of annual Hajj rituals in the Saudi holy city of Makkah. Nearly 89,000 Pakistanis have traveled to Saudi Arabia under the government's Hajj scheme and over 23,620 Pakistanis are performing Hajj through private tour operators. Pakistan's Hajj Mission has completed all arrangements for the transportation of pilgrims to the world's largest tent valley at Mina, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported. 'Over 88,000 pilgrims under government Hajj scheme will reach Mina via 932 buses before Zuhr prayer tomorrow,' the broadcaster said on Tuesday. 'Pilgrims will remain at Mina until Fajr next morning (Thursday), the 9th Dhul Hijjah. Then, the Hujjaj will proceed to the valley of Arafat to perform 'Waqoof-e-Arafa,' the main ritual of Hajj and offer Zuhr and Asr prayers there.' The Pakistan Hajj Mission has urged the pilgrims to follow their scheduled departure time to avoid the risk of overcrowding amid hot weather conditions, according to the report. The mission earlier advised Pakistani pilgrims to follow the directives issued by Saudi Arabia concerning the stoning of the devil or 'Rami Al-Jamarat' and animal sacrifice rituals during the annual Islamic pilgrimage. Each 'Maktab' will have designated timings for the act of stoning the devil on the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, Radio Pakistan reported. 'Every 'Nazim' [administrator] is bound to ensure that the intending pilgrims perform this ritual as per their allocated time slot,' it said, citing the Pakistani Hajj Mission. 'Therefore, all pilgrims are advised to proceed in groups under the supervision of their 'Nazim' as per schedule.' The state broadcaster also reported that the Saudi authorities have set the time for sacrificing animals for Pakistani pilgrims on the night between the 10th and 11th of Dhul Hijjah at 12:30am. 'Hence, all pilgrims are urged to complete the 'Rami' of the first day before midnight,' the Pakistani mission said. The annual pilgrimage will conclude on Monday, June 9.
Arab News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Over 2,700 pilgrims complete training in Pakistan's southwest to undertake Hajj journey
QUETTA: More than 2,700 Pakistani pilgrims in the southwestern city of Quetta have completed training to undertake the annual pilgrimage that is expected in June, with officials voicing on Thursday their satisfaction over the arrangements made by Saudi authorities. Nearly 89,000 Pakistani pilgrims are expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and another 23,620 Pakistanis will perform the pilgrimage through private tour operators. The total quota granted to Pakistan was 179,210, which could not be met. Each pilgrim in Pakistan's Balochistan province has attended two training sessions at Hajji Camp in Quetta, where they have also been facilitated with passports, visas and tickets for their travel to Saudi Arabia. 'Everything is running smoothly here because our instructors and the staff are fully cooperating with the pilgrims,' said Muhammad Jan, a 62-year-old resident of Balochistan's Naseerabad district who will be performing Hajj under the government scheme for the first time. Jan, who completed his two training sessions in February and April, was visiting Hajji Camp in Quetta to collect his travel documents. 'There are hundreds of thousands of people [at Hajj each year], so if there are some minor shortcomings, then I think [it's not a big deal],' he told Arab News. 'But from what we have heard, their [Saudi government] management is very good, they are facilitating [pilgrims] very well.' This year, only 2,779 pilgrims from 34 districts across Pakistan's sparsely populated Balochistan province will travel to Saudi Arabia. 'We have thoroughly guided our Hajj pilgrims about traveling guidelines, Hajj rules set by the Saudi government and the Hajj rituals,' a senior official at the Hajji Camp, who was not authorized to speak to media, told Arab News. 'We are satisfied with the Hajj arrangements by the Saudi government and there is a colossal coordination between the Pakistan and Saudi governments regarding the Hajj pilgrimage.' Abdul Hadi, who also came to collect his documents from the Pishin district, urged authorities to expedite the process as some pilgrims had to wait 'for hours.' 'They should have set up all documents with numbers so the pilgrims could get their documents in sequence by standing in queues. Now we have to wait for our names, that is a time-consuming procedure,' the 65-year-old said. 'When [Pakistani] pilgrims go to Saudi Arabia, they must keep in view our country's reputation and protect it. They must not do anything there that may disgrace our country.' Faizullah Abid, a volunteer at Hajji Camp, said they had regularly been handing over passports, visas and tickets to pilgrims. 'If any pilgrim does not wish to go back home [before departure for Hajj], then they are being provided accommodation and food here, then the Ministry of Religious Affairs will transport them to airport in their vehicles,' he added. Pakistan launched its Hajj flight operation on April 29 which will continue till May 31. Pilgrims will continue to leave for Madinah during the first 15 days of the operation and afterwards, they will land in Jeddah and travel directly to Makkah.
