JEDDAH: Emotions ran high in the departure lounge of King Abdulaziz International Airport on Thursday as Pakistani Hujjaj prepared to return home after completing the Hajj pilgrimage. The atmosphere was poignant, with tears and heartfelt expressions of gratitude to Almighty Allah filling the air. The farewell Tawaf at the Grand Mosque in Makkah marked the end of the five-day communion with Allah Almighty at the holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah from Zilhajj 8-12. This year, around 160,000 Pakistanis performed the religious obligation under both the government and private Hajj schemes.
On the first day of a month-long post-Hajj flight operation, a batch of 1,723 Hajj pilgrims was scheduled to leave Makkah for different destinations in Pakistan, including Multan and Lahore.
First flight PF-723 left for Multan from Jeddah airport at 05:35 Saudi Arabia Standard Time (SAST) carrying 150 passengers; second flight PA-471 for Lahore at 06:55 SAST with 190 pilgrims on board; third flight PA-273 for Islamabad at 07:55 SAST carrying 200 passengers; fourth flight PA-173 for Karachi at 08:15 SAST with 180 Hujjaj; fifth flight PA-873 for Multan at 08:30 SAST with 180 passengers and sixth flight PF-719 for Islamabad at 10:50 SAST carrying 150 Hajj pilgrims. Similarly, the seventh Lahore-bound flight PF-721 was scheduled to take off from Jeddah airport at 11:45 SAST, carrying 150 pilgrims; eighth flight, PF-715 for Karachi at 18:20 SAST with 151 passengers on board; ninth and the last flight of the day PK-842 for Islamabad at 20:50 SAST with 372 Hujjaj on board. –Agencies
