ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani ministry of religious affairs has signed an agreement with the National Testing Service, which will hold exams for the selection of supervisors and assistants for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage, the ministry said on Thursday.

Pakistan selects hundreds of assistants and doctors from federal and provincial government departments via a competitive process every year to facilitate local pilgrims in performing the rituals of the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. 

Pakistan had received 82,000 applications for next year’s Hajj under the government scheme by Tuesday when the submission deadline ended. Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims, to be divided equally between government and private schemes. The government extended the deadline for applications twice this month, first from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10, and then to Dec. 17, as it aims to fill over 89,000 seats under the federal government quota. 

“Like last year, this year too, the selection of Hajj Assistants who will be sent on Hajj duty will be done through National Testing Service,” the religious affairs ministry said. 

“According to the agreement, staff will be appointed on the basis of merit as per the federal and provincial quotas, in which a specific ratio of new and experienced assistants has been kept … Government employees and officers of Scale 7 to 18 will be eligible to apply.”

The ministry said it would “soon” announce the selection through an advertisement. 

The ministry of religious affairs trains Hajj assistants and pilgrims every year ahead of their departure to Saudi Arabia to ensure all aspects of the pilgrimage process, including food, transportation, and accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, run smoothly. 

Pakistan last year sent 550 Hajj assistants and 400 doctors and paramedical staff to Saudi Arabia to facilitate pilgrims.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called for better transport connectivity and trade corridors between member states from the D-8 developing group of nations to boost regional trade and economic cooperation.

Sharif arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to lead the Pakistan delegation at the Eleventh Summit of D-8 countries, hold bilateral discussions with multiple world leaders on the sidelines of the forum and attend a special meeting on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with a focus on Gaza and Lebanon.

The D-8 grouping promotes economic and development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Türkiye. Key areas of cooperation are agriculture, trade, transportation, industry, energy and tourism.

The bloc’s latest summit is themed “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy.”

“Connectivity is a force multiplier and is rightly hailed as a vehicle for peace and prosperity,” Sharif said as he addressed the summit. “We need to explore the possibilities of developing and enhancing transport connectivity among D-8 member states for building efficient intra-trade corridors and reliable supply chains.

In this regard, the Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye corridor is an excellent project for very efficient connectivity.”

The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Road Transport Corridor is a cross-border trade initiative aimed at improving road transport links and providing more efficient movement options for goods between South Asia, the Middle East and Europe.