Case of 67,000 Hajj aspirants further delayed

Islamabad: The case of 67,000 people aspiring for Hajj is pending. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has alleged that private tour operators wasted time by going to court.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf has said that the Saudi government’s portal has been closed, and now it is not willing to allow more pilgrims.

He stated that 23,620 of the private Hajj pilgrims have been cleared, out of which 13,000 people will be able to perform Hajj due to the government’s efforts. The pilgrims who have paid the Saudi authorities according to the procedure will have their money returned.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has alleged that private tour operators wasted time by going to court.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Hajj Organizers Association, Nasir Khan, said that the government did not fulfill its official Hajj quota last year, and it was busy fulfilling its quota this year, after which it allowed us to run advertisements, which is why we were delayed.

He stated that if the Prime Minister talks to the Saudi Crown Prince, the issue can be resolved.

It is pertinent to note that despite getting 10,000 Hajj quota this year, 67,000 pilgrims of the private Hajj scheme will be deprived of the privilege of performing Hajj.

After getting the quota of 10,000, the number of Hajj pilgrims of the private scheme has increased to 24,000, and another 67,000 have been booked, while the Hajj organizers have sent 700 million riyals to Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, an appeal has also been made to the Prime Minister for intervention regarding the Hajj quota, and Pakistan's total Hajj quota is 179,210.

Half of this quota is 89,605 for the government scheme and 89,605 for the private Hajj scheme. Due to the failure of Hajj service agreements and payments as per the schedule, the Saudi government accepted the Hajj payments of only 14,000 pilgrims from the private Hajj scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called the Saudi Foreign Minister, as a result of which the Saudi government granted permission for another 10,000 pilgrims.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs gave this quota of 10,000 to the Hajj organization Hope.