Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to get Zamzam water upon arrival as part of Saudi initiative

Pakistani pilgrims breeze through immigration counters at Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah as part of the “Makkah Route” initiative on July 5, 2019. (SPA)
  • Each Hajj pilgrim will be handed over a five-liter Zamzam water bottle
  • First Hajj flights carrying 1500 to 1800 Pakistan pilgrims will arrive tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have furthered Ƶ’s Zamzam water initiative for Hajj and made every arrangement to provide the holy water to Hajj pilgrims upon their arrival back to Pakistan, the Ministry of Religious Affairs said on Friday.
“The Zamzam water will be available at all small and major airports of Pakistan to be distributed among the Hajj pilgrims,” Imran Siddique, spokesperson for Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News from Makkah. 
He said that ample space has been allocated at all airports for storage of the holy water and “each pilgrim will get a five-liter Zamzam bottle on arrival without any hassle.”
Siddique said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has already made arrangements for provision of the holy water to pilgrims at small airports as well including Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Quetta. Private airlines have also stocked Zamzam water at all the airports ahead of post Hajj arrival flight operations which will commence from August 17.
“All these arrangements have been made with cooperation of the Saudi government to facilitate our pilgrims,” Siddique said, adding that provision of hassle-free blessed water to Pakistani pilgrims is part of the Saudi’s “Al-Zamzami Al Sagheer” initiative.
Ƶ’s Al-Zamazema Office has launched the project to provide the Zamzam water to pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom.
More than 200,000 Pakistanis have performed Hajj this year, while around 30,000 pilgrims flying from Islamabad international airport benefited from pre-departure immigration facility under the ‘Road to Makkah’ project.
The holy water for Muslims comes from the Zamzam well located in Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah and is believed in the Islamic faith to be a miraculously generated source of water from God.
Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing Hajj and Umrah in order to drink from it and carry it home for family and friends.
Pakistan’s post-Hajj flight operation is scheduled to begin from Saturday with six flights landing at different airports of the country including Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“First Hajj flights carrying around 1500 to 1800 pilgrims back from Ƶ will reach Pakistan tomorrow,” Siddique said, adding that the post-Hajj flight operation will continue till September 15.