320 pilgrims depart for Hajj

The pre-Hajj operation began from the Multan International Airport (MIAP) as 326 intending pilgrims departed for Madina on board a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on Tuesday.

Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, along with Director Hajj Rehan Abbas Khokhar, saw off the pilgrims.

Fifty-two flights of PIA and other airlines will carry approximately 12,000 pilgrims from Multan during the pre-Hajj operations this year which will conclude on June 22.

A ceremony was held at the MIAP to see off the pilgrims.

The ceremony was attended, among others, by officials from the Hajj Directorate, the CAA, PIA and the ASF.

Addressing the ceremony, Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani congratulated the pilgrims, saying that they were lucky to be chosen for the sacred Islamic duty.

The senator said that this year 11,500 pilgrims would travel from Multan with an expenditure of over Rs1.1 million for each pilgrim and added that the government would pay Rs55,000 to each pilgrim for sacrificial animals.

He asked the intending pilgrims to pray for the progress and prosperity of the country besides for the martyrs, the Pakistan Movement leaders and workers and for the poor segments of society.

Gilani paid rich tribute to the former federal minister for Religious Affairs, Maulana Abdul Shakoor, for his meritorious services to the pilgrims last year and requested the pilgrims to remember the deceased in their special prayers.

The senator told the audience that as the prime minister, he had ordered extending the runway at the MIAP so that big aircraft could land here easily so that the pilgrims from Multan didn’t have to travel all the way to Karachi to catch their flight for Haj.

Airport Manager Syed Ghazanfar Raza felicitated the pilgrims and said that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had made excellent arrangements for them.

Director Hajj, Rehan Abbas Khokhar, highlighted the facilities being provided to the pilgrims at the Hajj Complex, adding that it was built when Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani had been the speaker of the National Assembly.

He said that the MIAP was a gift for the people of South Punjab Later, Yusuf Raza Gilani saw off the pilgrims after garlanding them.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2023.