77,000 Pakistanis to miss Hajj due to private companies’ non-compliance

ISLAMABAD: 77,000 Pakistanis will be deprived of Hajj this year, due to failure of private Hajj companies to comply with Saudi conditions.

This lack of compliance has resulted in Saudi Arabia declaring non-fulfillment of private Hajj quota for Pakistan. This information came to light during a meeting of the investigation committee headed by the Cabinet Division Secretary. In a briefing to the Religious Affairs Committee Secretary Dr Atta-ur-Rehman informed that private Hajj operators violated the agreement with Saudi Arabia.

He said that only 12,500 out of the quota of 89,801 were booked.

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Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf had requested an extension of the deadline for Hajj booking, but Saudi Arabia has refused to extend the date of the agreement, the committee secretary said.

He explained that an agreement was reached between private Hajj operators, Saudi Ministry, and Pakistan Hajj Mission on December 10. The Pakistani government had allowed tour operators to transfer money to Saudi Arabia starting January 10, with the deadline of payments set by Saudi Arabia on February 14. The payments are necessary for Saudi Arabia to make a decision regarding the facilities for Hajj pilgrims.

As a result, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has sought details of 10,000 pilgrims from private Hajj operators, seeking answer to why was the Saudi policy not implemented.

The Prime Minister has also formed a three-member committee to determine those responsible for not using the private Hajj quota. Sources familiar with the matter said that the committee will determine the responsible parties in three days.

They also said that a private Hajj company will be disqualified for violating the policy and making false statements.

On the other hand, the state quota of pilgrims has been increased by 10,000, which will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis under the submitted applications, sources said. Now, 22,500 Pakistanis will be able to perform Hajj under the private Hajj scheme instead of 12,500.

However, the non-compliance of the private sector means that this year, only 112,000 Pakistanis will be able to perform Hajj instead of 179,210.

67,000 pilgrims will not be able to perform Hajj, because the government was able to get concessions for only 10,000 out of the 77,000 Pakistani pilgrims who were deprived of Hajj.