ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs on Tuesday started the process of vaccinating intending Hajj pilgrims against meningitis, flu, and polio.
According to the ministry, the vaccine will be administered in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, and Multan today. In Karachi, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Faisalabad, and Sialkot, Hajj pilgrims will receive the vaccine from Tuesday (tomorrow).
In Quetta, mandatory vaccination for Hajj pilgrims will be carried out on Wednesday.
The annual Hajj pilgrimage is scheduled to take place in June. This year, around 90,000 Pakistanis are set to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme, while 23,620 will perform Hajj through private tour operators.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Monday said that the Ministry has made the best arrangements for the pilgrimage and emphasised that there will be zero tolerance for any shortcomings.
“Hajj pilgrims should visit the Hajj camps as per the given schedule,” the ministry said. “Pilgrims must get the yellow card issued by the government after getting vaccinated.”
Pakistan will start Hajj flight operations from April 29, with the first flight leaving from the country second second-largest city and cultural hub, Lahore.
“Special arrangements have been made for coronavirus vaccine for pilgrims above 65 years of age,” the Pakistani religion ministry added.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, has announced that Saudi Arabia has approved an additional 10,000 slots for Pakistani Hajj pilgrims under the private Hajj scheme.
In January, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Hajj Agreement 2025, under which Pakistan was allocated a quota of 179,210 pilgrims, to be equally divided between the government and private Hajj schemes.
“Initially, Saudi authorities had indicated a quota of 102,000, but upon my request to reconsider sympathetically, they granted us an additional 10,000 slots,” he explained.
He clarified that the additional quota was granted exclusively to private Hajj operators and warned against the spread of misinformation about any further increases in the quota.
