Pakistan’s flag carrier resumes direct flights to Iran’s Mashhad

Pakistan’s national flag carrier PIA has resumed direct flights between Lahore and Iran’s second largest city of Mashhad five years after the airline suspended the route over financial problems.

Pakistan International Airlines carried out the first flight between Lahore and Mashhad on Wednesday night, according to a report by Iran’s IRIB News on Thursday.

The report cited a statement by the PIA showing that the airline will soon increase its flights to Mashhad by launching another flight to the city from the port of Karachi in southern Pakistan on January 1, 2022.

PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan told local Pakistani media on Thursday that the restoration of the Lahore-Mashhad route is meant to facilitate the travel of Shia Muslims in the country to holy sites in Iran.

Mashhad, located in northeastern Iran, is home to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (Peace be upon him), the eighth Shia Imam. The shrine is visited by millions of people every month, including pilgrims from countries with sizable Shia population, including Iraq, the Republic of Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

MG