Forty thousand pilgrims not missing, Religious Affairs Minister clarifies statement

Shiite News: According to Dawn News, Pakistani Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf has revealed in a conversation with journalists that the records of about 40,000 pilgrims are still available only in paper form and have not been transferred to the central digital registry.

He clarified that “it has never been said that thousands of Pakistanis are missing”.

However, this initial news came from the minister himself when he announced a delay in the return of pilgrims from Iran and Iraq and reforms in the travel system.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has introduced a modern online registration system for pilgrims going to Iran, Iraq and Syria to avoid such mistakes and improve security.

The move has also been taken to stop those who use the pilgrimage as a means of illegal migration to Europe, especially via Turkey.

Under the new system, formal registration of all tour operators has been made mandatory, as is done for Umrah in Saudi Arabia.

Sardar Yousef said that now every pilgrim and group organizer will be issued a QR code to make their identification and contact easier.

He added that the government will provide complete lists of pilgrims to the relevant authorities in Iran, Iraq and Syria before the trip.

The Minister expressed the hope that this proactive step would dispel any misunderstanding or propaganda regarding the movement of Pakistani pilgrims.