Road to Makkah project significant for Hajj journey: Minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Noor ul Haq Qadri on Sunday said that after the success of Road to Makkah project, it would be expanded to other cities of the country too.

Speaking at Radio Pakistan program,  he said Road to Makkah project was a significant achievement in hajj journey.

He said this project started from pilgrims of Indonesia and Malaysia which helped saving a lot of precious time in immigration and custom procedures.

The Minister appreciated the role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman who played a role in granting of this facility to Pakistani pilgrims.

He said the project had started on experimental basis at Islamabad Airport and later it would be expanded to include Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and other cities.

He said two or three new cities would be added into this project next year.

The minister said twenty five to thirty thousand pilgrims from Islamabad would benefit from this facility.

Noor ul Haq Qadri said the number of intending pilgrims from Pakistan had reached  two hundred thousand from one hundred and seventy five thousand.

The minister termed the granting of e-visa facility to Pakistani pilgrims by Saudi authorities a good step as it was a long-standing demand of Pakistan.

Earlier, the facility was extended only to pilgrims from France, Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.

He said e-visa facility would ensure hassle free granting of visa to Pakistani intending pilgrims.