Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry says over 31,000 Hajj pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's religious affairs ministry has said in a statement more than 31,000 Hajj pilgrims had reached Saudi Arabia from the country by Wednesday evening, adding that many of them were now beginning to move to the holy city of Makkah from Madinah.

The kingdom restored Pakistan's pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims in January and removed the upper age limit of 65. The country plans to send 80,000 people to perform pilgrimage under the government scheme while the rest of them will be facilitated by private tour operators.

"According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, 31,241 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia through 53 flights as of Wednesday, May 31," the ministry said in an official statement. "More than 27,000 of these pilgrims are staying in Madinah, and over 4,000 have reached Makkah by modern buses."

"The first direct flights from Pakistan to Jeddah Airport are scheduled to begin on June 5," it added.

So far, the Hajj flights from the country have only landed in Madinah.

Pakistan's director-general of Hajj Abdul Wahab Soomro, who is currently in the kingdom, visited the two holy cities to monitor pilgrimage arrangements.

The statement said various departments within the ministry, including the complaints cell, were working diligently to ensure a smooth and comfortable Hajj experience for the pilgrims.

To cater to the medical needs of the pilgrims, 137 doctors and paramedics have also been deployed by the Pakistan Hajj Medical Mission.

Special monitoring teams of the ministry have also been inspecting various residences and accommodations to review the facilities provided under both public and private Hajj schemes.

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan's top aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi was released on Tuesday nearly a month after he was arrested following violent protests in the wake of Khan's detention in a land fraud case on May 9.

Pakistan has been in turmoil since Khan was ousted from the office of the prime minister in 2022 through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence and launched street protests for fresh elections. A full-blown economic crisis, with runaway inflation, a plunge in the currency and the possibility of a debt default, has added to the turmoil.

Khan's arrest on corruption charges in May, which he says was at the behest of the army in cahoots with the civilian government - both deny any political involvement - led to violent nationwide protests, attacks on an air base, military buildings, including the army's headquarters, and the burning of a top general's home, allegedly by the former prime minister's supporters.

The government and the military have vowed strict actions against all those involved in the violence. Several top leaders of Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including Qureshi who is the party's vice chairman, are under arrest under a law related to the maintenance of public order. All the leaders who have been set free have subsequently publicly distanced themselves from Khan, denounced the protests and praised the military.

"Inshallah tomorrow I will meet PTI chairman Imran Khan," Qureshi told reporters after his release. "I spent a month in solitary confinement and got a lot of time to reflect … Whatever my analysis is on the political situation, I will put it before PTI Chairman Imran Khan and also seek his guidance."

Qureshi has at least twice been released by the courts since his arrest but was rearrested immediately after.

There has been no mention of Khan on local television since the government issued a directive last week not to give airtime to "hate mongers, rioters, their facilitators and perpetrators". It did not name Khan. Most newspapers have also stopped covering him.

Khan's name was muted by all mainstream TV channels on Tuesday during Qureshi's press talk.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday held meetings with top Iraqi government officials as well members of the Middle East country's business community to enhance bilateral relations, the foreign office said.

Bhutto-Zardari arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning on a three-day visit which began with meetings with the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, and Iraqi Foreign Minister Dr. Fuad Hussein.

Relations between Pakistan and Iraq have received a boost with a number of ministerial-level exchanges in recent years. Iraq's foreign minister visited Islamabad in August last year.

"FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met Iraq's Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi. They discussed measures to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and Iraq, especially the promotion of cooperative parliamentary exchanges," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Twitter post.

FM @BBhuttoZardari met Iraq's Speaker of Parliament @AlHaLboosii. They discussed measures to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and Iraq especially promotion of cooperative parliamentary exchanges. #PakFMinIraq pic.twitter.com/5EfXpfGRuf

Bhutto-Zardari also held meetings with Ammar Hakeem, the president of Iraq's Al-Hikmet party, Human Hamoudi, the head of the country's Islamic supreme council, and Iraqi interior minister Abdulamir Kamel Al-Shammari.

FM @BBhuttoZardari met Interior Minister of Iraq Lt. Gen. Abdulamir Kamel Al-Shammari. They discussed strengthenining of p2p contacts, visa abolition on specific categories & facilitation for i Zaireen & business community, coop. in CT & anti-anrcotics. #PakFMinIraq pic.twitter.com/ft6shcfzlr

During the meetings, Bhutto-Zardari discussed strengthening people-to-people contacts between the two countries, enhancing historical, religious, and cultural linkages, and cooperation in counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics activities.

The foreign minister also met representatives of the Pakistan-Iraq Business Council in Baghdad and discussed collaboration and mutual investment in five prioritized fields: IT, food security, energy, construction, and medicine.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce (FPCCI) and its Iraqi counterpart.

The foreign minister said the establishment of the Pakistan-Iraq Business Council comprising chambers of commerce and key business entities from both countries would help expand economic ties.

"Through this entity, we can follow up on programs, policy suggestions, roadmap, and special initiatives for enhancing trade and investment between the two countries," he said, according to a statement by the foreign office.

KARACHI: In a narrow yard inside a community center in the Pakistani city of Karachi, a group of young boys and girls stood in a circle on one foot, engaging in a movement exercise aimed to give the students a grounding in practical performance skills as well as allow them to socialize and have fun.

The scene was from the Lyari Theatre Academy, housed in a two-story building rented out by the Dreams of Youth Welfare Society as a space to provide multiple trainings and classes to young people in Lyari, one of the poorest areas of Karachi, known for its soaring crime rates and criminal gangs.

Launched last month, the Academy is currently running a three-month-long course, with two-hour classes thrice a week, conducted by a male and a female instructor. The first session was held on May 22 and the course is currently in its third week, with 19 students, of whom five are girls. The classes have a Rs1,000 ($3.5) per month fee, but the dues for more than 90 percent of students are paid by welfare and community organizations that work in Lyari.

The theater workshops are the brainchild of Sabeer Ahmed, a stage actor and social activist, who wanted to create a space where young people, particularly girls, could learn theater and with it have fun and build confidence.

"The biggest thing for us is to first convince parents to let their children come here for theater," Ahmed told Arab News, as a young boy behind him practiced projecting his voice while a group listened.

"People consider theater a taboo here. They think if it's theater, it's something bad."

Ahmed said the main purpose of starting the classes was so girls, often not allowed to go out of the neighborhood, could have a space for entertainment and activity.

"Now we have formed the Lyari Theatre Academy here, and most of these people [students] are coming from the vicinity," he said. "They take it as an entertainment to escape from the suffocated environment they live in."

Student Shanze Tahir Durrani said her family allowed her to pursue her childhood passion after they learnt that the classes were taking place inside Lyari.

"I was really interested to learn theater," she said. "When I learnt that it is happening in my own locality, then my family allowed me to go and learn."

Rimsha Usman Ghani, a theater artist who is an instructor at the Academy, described her own struggles as a young girl interested in the performing arts.

"Most people know about the situation in Lyari, it's very tough to pursue theater here and it was tough for me too," she said. "But I was [able to do it] because of my father's support, who went against my entire family to support me in theater."

Now, Ghani wants to pass her skills forward.

"I am now trying my best that whatever I have learnt, whatever I have read, I am able to take it forward in my Lyari, especially to girls," the instructor said. "Because I understand that it's very difficult for girls to step out and perform."

Indeed, said Ghani, the drama classroom was one of the few places where real world life skills such as communication and self-confidence could also be taught.

"Girls should be confident enough to speak to anyone, whether it's a male or a female," she said.

"When I took the first class, girls did not have that much confidence. After three weeks, I saw confidence in them. Earlier, they couldn't even stand next to a boy but now they are engaging in activities with them."

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hajj mission on Tuesday established a central control room in Makkah to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims and address their concerns, a spokesperson for the Pakistani religious affairs ministry said.

Saudi Arabia has reinstated Pakistan's pre-pandemic Hajj quota, allowing 179,210 pilgrims to participate in this year's pilgrimage. It also lifted the upper age limit of 65 years. Around 80,000 Pakistanis will perform Hajj through the government scheme, while the rest will use private tour operators.

According to the Pakistani religious affairs ministry, over 40,000 Pakistanis have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage since the government initiated a special flight operation on May 21. After concluding its flight operation to Madinah, direct Hajj flights from Pakistan's Islamabad to Saudi Arabia's Makkah province started on Monday morning.

"The Pakistan Hajj mission established a main control room in Makkah to ensure the smooth conduct of Hajj operations and address issues faced by Pakistani pilgrims under one roof," Muhammad Umer Butt, the spokesperson for the religious affairs ministry, told Arab News over the phone from Makkah.

He said the main control room would oversee all arrangements and address the concerns of Pakistani pilgrims.

"The control room will manage transportation from Jeddah airport to Makkah, as well as other logistics in Makkah and Madinah such as residence management, medical facilities, food, and other necessities," he said.

The office would also maintain communication with Saudi authorities, the Pakistani consulate in Jeddah, and the Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Butt said various departments had been established within the central control room to quickly resolve issues faced by the pilgrims.

"These departments included residence management, provision of medical facilities, Haram guides and helpers for pilgrim guidance, and a call center to receive and record complaints for prompt resolution of issues faced by the pilgrims," Butt said.

All the pilgrims, he said, were given phone numbers for the call center.

"The center is fully computerized" Butt said, "and complaints are swiftly forwarded to the respective departments through the online system."

ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rugby team will be arriving in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore next month to take part in two matches of the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1 that will be hosted by Pakistan this year, Pakistan's Rugby Union confirmed on Tuesday.

Pakistan and the UAE regularly have cultural, educational and business exchanges as well as sports events, which provide a platform for people of both countries to know more about each other and strengthen bilateral ties.

"Pakistan has received the hosting rights for the Asia Rugby Championship Division 1, 2023, this year and will be hosting the UAE team in Lahore to play two matches on July 4 and July 8, respectively," Salman Sheikh, secretary of the Pakistan Rugby Union, told Arab News on Tuesday.

The Pakistani team is currently busy training for the tournament under the guidance of South African coach Gert Mulder, according to the Pakistan Rugby Union.

"Mulder also coached the Pakistan team for the Asia Rugby Division 2 in May 2022, in which the ‘Men in Green’ defeated Thailand," Sheikh said.

He said the venue for the two matches with the UAE had not been decided yet, but they would most likely be played at Lahore's Punjab Stadium.

Rugby is a close-contact team sport in which players have to run with the ball in their hands. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.

Pakistan's national rugby team made its international debut in a match against Sri Lanka in 2003, while the UAE, which had been part of the Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union since 1974, became a full member of Asia Rugby in 2012.