ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked authorities to make special flight arrangements to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims’ travel to Iran and Iraq, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday.
The development came hours after Pakistan suspended road travel to Iran and Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year, citing public safety and national security concerns.
Thousands of Pakistanis travel to Iran and Iraq annually to visit religious sites, including observing Arbaeen (Arabic for “forty”), a significant religious occasion in Shia Islam that marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussain, who was “martyred” in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
On Sunday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with PM Sharif and briefed him regarding the new policy for Pakistani Shia pilgrims’ travel to Iran and Iraq, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported.
“The prime minister directed the Minister for Aviation to arrange special flights for the zaireen (pilgrims),” the report read.
