Published on, Aug. 20 -- August 20, 2025 4:44 AM

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony on Tuesday announced that the traditional Qafila Salaar (caravan leader) system for organizing pilgrimages to holy sites in Iran and Iraq will soon be phased out. According to the Ministry's spokesman Muhammad Umar Butt, all future pilgrimages will be managed exclusively through authorized Ziyarat Group Organizers (ZGOs) approved by the ministry. He said the Ministry has already initiated a scrutiny process for companies interested in organizing pilgrimages. So far, security clearance of 585 companies has been completed, while 95 new companies submitted their documents during the latest extension, he added. He further informed that e...