ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has issued registration certificates to 67 additional licensed pilgrimage companies, expanding a tightly regulated travel system designed to curb overstays, undocumented migration and security risks linked to religious travel to Iran and Iraq, the ministry of religious affairs said on Tuesday.
The move is part of a broader overhaul of Pakistan’s pilgrim management framework after authorities confirmed that tens of thousands of Pakistani pilgrims had overstayed or gone missing abroad over the past decade, raising concerns with host governments and triggering diplomatic pressure on Islamabad to tighten oversight.
“The dream of safe travel for pilgrims to Iran and Iraq through better facilities and a transparent mechanism is set to be realized,” the religious affairs ministry said in a statement, quoting Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, who announced that 67 new Ziyarat Group Organizers had been registered.
Pakistan’s government has dismantled the decades-old “Salar” system, under which informal caravan leaders arranged pilgrimages with limited state oversight. The model was blamed for weak documentation, poor accountability and widespread overstays, particularly during peak pilgrimage seasons.
