ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain, while discussing the number of Pakistanis who had gone to Iraq for religious tourism but decided not to return, shared a startling number, saying that there were 50,000 such cases without specifying when these people lost. .
Every year, thousands of Pakistani pilgrims travel to Iran, Iraq and Syria to visit religious shrines in these countries.
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, the minister said the government had formulated a policy to streamline such visits to Middle Eastern states, adding that it was awaiting the approval of the federal cabinet.
A statement released after the committee meeting reflected that participants had discussed the issue at length.
“Chaudhry Salik Hussain revealed during the meeting that nearly 50,000 Pakistanis have disappeared in Iraq,” the statement said.
She informed that the government wants to enforce a group system for pilgrims visiting the above countries, adding that Iraq has its own monitoring system for pilgrims at its borders.
The meeting also discussed the problems faced by pilgrims at the Taftan border between Pakistan and Iran, which they mostly cross to visit shrines in the three Middle Eastern states.
Meanwhile, Senator Raja Nisar Abbas, who is part of the Senate committee, said most people who go missing in other countries travel there illegally.
He insisted that those who go on pilgrimage to these countries should collect their travel documents at the border.
He also highlighted the problems faced by the pilgrims at the Taftan border, pointing out that they had to wait for several days without basic equipment.
Abbas suggested that a complaints cell, similar to the one that helps Hajj pilgrims, be set up for these people.
