ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is enacting sweeping reforms to its pilgrimage travel policy after it emerged that nearly 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims have gone missing or overstayed in Iraq, Iran, and Syria over the past decade—sparking diplomatic unease and security concerns across the region, reported by Daily Times on Friday.
The revelation, confirmed by the country’s top immigration official, has prompted Islamabad to dismantle the decades-old, informal system for religious travel and implement a centralized, computerized tracking structure to monitor pilgrims more rigorously.
“We estimate that around 40,000 pilgrims who traveled to Iraq, Iran, and Syria over the last ten years have not returned,” said Mustafa Jamal Kazi, Director General of Immigration and Passports, speaking to Arab News. “Most of these disappearances occurred in Iraq. We have formally requested detailed records from the Iraqi government.”
The missing pilgrims were part of the annual religious journeys undertaken by thousands of Pakistani Shia Muslims to sacred shrines across the region. But what was once a deeply spiritual passage has increasingly become entangled with illegal migration, human trafficking, and exploitative labor practices.
Authorities believe many pilgrims are lured by Iraq’s booming construction sector, while others—particularly women—have fallen into networks of bonded labor or coerced begging under the guise of religious tourism.
In response, the government has scrapped the “Salar system”, a loosely regulated method where private group leaders, known as Qafila Salars, arranged travel. The new policy replaces it with a Ziyarat Management System that mandates organized group travel, regulated by licensed tour operators.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi recently reviewed the plan during high-level talks in Iran, culminating in a finalized policy aimed at plugging longstanding oversight gaps.
Under the revamped framework:
- Only licensed operators, designated as Ziyarat Group Organizers (ZGOs), will be permitted to arrange pilgrimages.
- Tour operators will be held legally accountable for ensuring all group members return to Pakistan before their visas expire.
- Operators who fail to comply face license cancellation and legal penalties.
- The digital registration system, approved by the federal cabinet, will maintain real-time records of pilgrims’ departures and returns.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs acknowledged the previous system’s weaknesses in a public statement this week, noting that the lack of accurate data on pilgrim numbers, itineraries, and returns had triggered “serious concerns” among host governments.
To further deter illegal stays, the passports of those confirmed to be missing will be blocked both digitally and physically, and their names added to Pakistan’s border control blacklist.
“Last year, we deported 50 such individuals from Iraq,” Kazi added. “Legal proceedings are underway against them.”
The overhaul comes amid rising pressure from regional governments to ensure that religious pilgrimage is not used as a gateway for unlawful migration or cross-border movement outside official channels.
While the reforms are expected to improve transparency and accountability, they also signal a shift in how Pakistan manages faith-based travel, transforming what has long
