Islamabad: Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Talha Mehmood has suspended official weekly holidays to speed up Hajj preparations.
He ordered officials to assist Hajj pilgrims daily. The religious minister ordered no Labour Day ministry holiday.
A day earlier, the minister expressed concerns about major Hajj issues and said that significant time already lost.
Despite challenges, he said Hajj pilgrims will have the best facilities this year.
He was optimistic that these issues could be resolved through close cooperation with the Saudi authorities, whom he recently met and received assurances of support to make Hajj for Pakistani pilgrims smooth and successful.
He told APP that most arrangements should have completed by Ramadan’s end, but they haven’t.
The minister said foreign exchange shortages and late payments to Saudi authorities were the main issues.
However, he believed ministry officials would work together to resolve the issues.
He said nearly 40,000 Road to Makkah pilgrims would leave Islamabad airport for Saudi Arabia this year.
The Road to Makkah project requires pilgrims to complete their immigration at Islamabad Airport.
After going through immigration at home, pilgrims can just enter the kingdom, saving several hours.
The minister asked PIA’s CEO to address performance issues.
The CEO promised cooperation and timely passenger transportation.
The ministry also seeks accommodations near Haram Sharif.
The speaker said he tell the media the names of catering companies and warned that pilgrims penalised for poor food.
