ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed an agreement to launch the Road to Makkah project aimed at facilitating immigration and customs clearance for Hajj pilgrims.
The agreement was signed at the Prime Minister’s House during the visit of Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Interior Minister, Dr. Nasir bin Abdulaziz Al Dawood. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Saudi Minister signed the document. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Ambassador to Islamabad Nawaf bin Saeed Al Maliki attended the ceremony. Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Talha Mehmood, Federal Minister for Anti-Narcotics Shah Zain Bugti and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi were also present.
Under the agreement, Pakistani Haj pilgrims will be provided immigration facilities in Pakistan and will be exempted from the process at Saudi airports for Haj 2023. This service will be available at Islamabad International Airport where around 26,000 pilgrims will benefit. The Saudi minister assured that this facility will be extended to Karachi and Lahore airports. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also signed joint minutes of the meeting in which discussions were held on issuing Pakistani passports to Burmese Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia.
Passports of Burmese Muslims have not been renewed since 2012, creating difficulties for them in the kingdom. Under this arrangement, passports will be issued to Burmese Muslims and their children to improve their legal status in Saudi Arabia. According to the discussion, a bilateral committee consisting of representatives of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will be formed to issue documents to Burmese Muslims as soon as possible.
After the signing ceremony, Prime Minister Shehbaz presented a memento to the Saudi dignitary who responded to the gesture by presenting a memento to the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile Dr. Nasir bin Abdul Aziz Al Dawood met Shahbaz Sharif. The Prime Minister thanked Saudi Arabia for its assistance during last year’s floods. He thanked the kingdom for providing assistance in evacuating Pakistanis stuck in Sudan. The Prime Minister praised the Kingdom for including Pakistan in the Road to Makkah project. Referring to the recent agreements with Saudi-Iran to normalize relations, the Prime Minister hoped that this would help promote regional peace and security. The Saudi minister thanked Pakistan for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation. He said that the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are rooted in history.
He expressed his satisfaction over his fruitful meetings with the Pakistani Ministers of Interior, Religious Affairs and Counter Narcotics.
