RIYADH – The Saudi King has sponsored the Hajj trip for as many as 60 Pakistanis who would land in the kingdom as guests under a special program.
The Pakistanis – both men and women – will travel to the kingdom next week to perform the Hajj; Saudi Arabia’s king issued a directive last week stating that the country would host 1,300 pilgrims from over 90 countries this year for Hajj under the ‘Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Program.’
“This initiative by the Saudi Ministry of Religious Affairs is an annual event, where individuals from various Muslim countries are invited to perform Hajj as guests of the Saudi King,” Abubakar Siddique, an official at the Saudi embassy told Arab News.
The official elaborated that the travel, accommodation, and all other arrangements during Hajj are sponsored by the Saudi Ministry of Religious Affairs, as these pilgrims are considered special guests of King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
As far as the selection criteria is concerned, the official said it is based on their significant contributions to the host country, with a majority of them being religious scholars, adding that other members were those who had served their communities and played their role in fostering the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relationship.
The participants for this year’s Hajj include Hafiz Zubair Hassan, a religious scholar from Lahore. Syed Hayat Ullah Khan, a religious scholar from Peshawar, and another Lahore-based religious scholar, Mohtasim Elahi Zaheer among others.
It bears mentioning that last year 40 Pakistanis performed the Hajj as special guests of the king.
It is noteworthy that this is the first time Saudi Arabia would be welcoming pilgrims in large numbers i.e around 2.3m after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. Around one million people joined the 2022 Hajj season and only those in age bracket 18 to 65 who were fully vaccinated or immunized against the virus and did not suffer from chronic diseases were allowed to visit the kingdom.
