Saudi Arabia top contributor as Pakistan worker remittances grow 29% year-on-year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has held its first training session in Islamabad for pilgrims selected for this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, it said on Thursday.
Around 500 selected pilgrims from the federal capital and its suburban areas attended the training workshop, who were briefed on administrative matters and Hajj rituals.
Hajj pilgrims are being provided training through audio-visual devices and other materials, according to the Pakistani religious affairs ministry.
“The first phase of training will continue across the country till February 27,” the ministry said. “The second phase of training will start after Ramadan.”
The development comes days after Pakistan began training of pilgrims, with the first session in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia this month signed the Hajj agreement 2025, under which 179,210 pilgrims from the South Asian country will perform the annual pilgrimage this year. The quota is divided equally between government and private schemes.
Pakistan’s latest Hajj policy has allowed pilgrims to make payments in installments for the first time. Under this scheme, the first installment of Rs200,000 ($717) had to be submitted with the application, the second installment of Rs400,000 ($1,435) within 10 days of balloting and the remaining amount by Feb. 10 this year.
The Pakistani religious affairs ministry has also launched the Pak Hajj 2025 mobile application, available for both Android and iPhone users, to guide pilgrims.
Additionally, the government has announced a reduction in airfare, lowering ticket prices for federal program pilgrims to Rs220,000 [$785.41], down from last year’s Rs234,000 [$835.39].
The Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, and private carriers have agreed to transport pilgrims this year.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has discussed the situation in Afghanistan and peace in South Asia region in a meeting with United States (US) Congressmen Joe Wilson and Rob Bresnahan in Washington, the Pakistani government’s information wing said on Thursday.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s strained relations with Afghanistan over a surge in militant attacks that Islamabad has blamed on militant groups operating out of Afghanistan. Afghanistan denies the allegation.
Most of these attacks have been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group that Pakistan believes to be an ally of the Afghan Taliban rulers and says has been emboldened since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in Aug. 2021.
Naqvi, who is currently on a visit to the US, held separate meetings with both Republican congressmen in Washington, according to the Press Information Department (PID) in Islamabad.
“They exchanged views on matters of mutual interest, promotion of Pakistan-US relations, and establishment of lasting peace in the region, particularly the situation in Afghanistan,” the PID said in a statement.

During the meetings, both sides highlighted the importance of boosting trade and cultural exchanges to strengthen US-Pakistan relations.
Relations between the US and Pakistan have also seen significant ups and downs in recent years. The countries collaborated during the Cold War and in the fight against Al-Qaeda after 9/11.
However, ties between Washington and Islamabad deteriorated as the former suspected the latter of supporting the Taliban in their 2021 takeover of Kabul, allegations which Islamabad rejected.
Tensions rose further in 2022 when former Pakistan premier Imran Khan accused the Biden administration of orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote, a charge the US denied, and more recently over Pakistan’s missile program.
During the meetings, Naqvi described the US as a “strategic partner” of Pakistan, and hoped that President Donald Trump’s second term would bring new dimensions to Pakistan-US relations
“Both sides explored ways to enhance cooperation in various fields,” the PID added.