25 thousand Pakistani pilgrims entered, Iranian authorities

Shiite News: According to the report of Mahr News Agency, Abbas Ahmadi, in charge of the passport and visa section of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed to the measures taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in relation to providing facilities for Arbaeen Hussaini pilgrims.

The foreign ministry official said that this year it has been decided that foreigners, especially Pakistanis, Afghan citizens and citizens of other neighboring countries, who pass through Iran to participate in the Arbaeen Hussaini procession, should enter Chaba border with their transport.

He said that last year there were traffic problems for these pilgrims, but this year, to solve this problem, the necessary permission was issued for the entry of Pakistani and Afghan vehicles into the country and they were allowed to enter Iraq through the Chaba border.

The head of the passport and visa section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained the advantages and disadvantages of this decision, explaining that its advantage is that foreigners do not need to wait at the internal borders, but they can enter Iraq directly from Chazaba border.
However, the downside of this decision is that the transport infrastructure in both countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, is weak and this problem has created challenges for visitors.

Ahmadi said that so far around 25,000 Pakistani pilgrims have entered the country from Ramdan and Mirjawah borders to participate in the Arbaeen Hussaini procession and in this framework the Iraqi government also issues free visas to them.

He clarified that we are trying to create transport capacity at the borders together with the provinces of Sistan and Balochistan and Khorasan Rizvi so that more and more foreign pilgrims can participate in Arbaeen.

He pointed to the services provided by the Iranian representative offices in Iraq to the pilgrims of Arbaeen Hussaini and said that temporary offices have also been established in the areas of Karbala, Najaf, Samarra, Najaf Airport, Hala Shahr, Hussaini. Where services are provided to visitors round the clock.

The head of the passport and visa section of the Iranian Foreign Ministry added that the helpline 128 has also been opened with the support of the Iraqi government and Iranian visitors who enter Iraq with their mobile phones and Iran Cell SIM cards receive the codes. One can contact Karbala command room by dialing 128 number for ease of transfer in case of emergency.