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20:13 Apr 19, 2026
Religious affairs minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf on Sunday affirmed that the government was providing Haj pilgrims with the best possible facilities as the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) began its Haj operation. Pilgrims were seen off at the Islamabad International Airport by Yousuf and other senior officials at the airport, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. It added that the Road to Makkah project has been expanded to Lahore, in addition to Karachi and Islamabad, and is expected to benefit over 95,000 pilgrims this year. A PIA spokesperson had earlier said that the first flight of the Haj operation (PK-747), carrying over 390 pilgrims, was set to depart from Sialkot for Madina, which took off past 2am. At the Islamabad airport, the Haj operation’s first flight from the capital (SV-5723) took off for Madina with 270 pilgrims on board, along with 10 crew members. The flight took off at 11am, a statement by the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said. Addressing the ceremony in Islamabad, the minister...