Iraq and Pakistan agreed to start a ferry service between Basra-Karachi to help Pakistani pilgrims (zaireen) visit Iraq.
The agreement was reached on Thursday, September 22, during a meeting between Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Iraqi Ambassador Hamid Abbas Lafta.
Sanaullah and Lafta agreed to sign the Pakistan-Iraq pilgrim agreement in 2022 and allocate a visa quota for Pakistani pilgrims going to Iraq.
The interior minister thanked the government of Iraq for issuing visas to ~60,000 Pakistani pilgrims for Arbaeen (Chehlum/Chehellom) of Hazrat Imam Hussain.
Arba'ein, Chehellom is a Shia religious observance that occurs 40 days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, who was martyred on the tenth day of the month of Muharram.
Emphasizing the need for an early signing of the agreement, the interior minister said that millions of pilgrims visited Baghdad, Karbala, and Najaf every year and the agreement would provide the best facilities to them.
Image: Port of Karachi (Pakistan)
According to the Iraqi ambassador, Iraq and Pakistan had "historic, fraternal and long-standing ties."
He added the agreement would expand/strengthen bilateral relations between the countries as well as provide the best visa facilities for Pakistani visitors.