Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, has made a startling revelation that over 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims who traveled to Iraq, Iran, and Syria have gone missing, with no official record of their whereabouts. He stated that both Iraqi and Iranian authorities have raised concerns with the Pakistani government over these undocumented visitors.
In response, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has launched a new computerized pilgrim management system aimed at preventing such incidents in the future. Under the new setup, pilgrims (zaireen) will only be allowed to travel through registered and verified Zaireen Group Organizers (ZGOs).
So far, over 1,400 private companies have applied to register with the Ministry to act as authorized ZGOs. Out of these, 585 companies have received security clearance and have been instructed to complete their online registration and submit documents by July 31, 2025. The ministry has also called for new applications from interested companies, with a deadline of August 10, 2025.
Minister Yousaf confirmed that the old Qafila Salaar (convoy leader) system will soon be phased out, and the federal cabinet has formally approved the new ZGO framework to ensure organized and secure travel for zaireen.
He acknowledged that the management of zaireen had been historically neglected and said that although a formal structure was approved in 2021, the previous government made little to no progress. Now, the Ministry has taken full responsibility to monitor and regulate religious pilgrimages to countries like Iraq, Iran, and Syria — just as it does for Hajj and Umrah.
This move comes amid rising concerns about undocumented travel and security risks in regions that have faced unrest in recent years.