SC restores 50pc quota of private Haj tour operators

CJP says stakeholders and private operators should
have been taken into confidence while changing quota; even when a step is taken in good faith, it is viewed with suspicion due to lack of confidence in institutions

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the Haj Policy 2016 and restored 50 percent quota each of government and private Haj operators with the observation that the government should have taken the stakeholders and private Haj operators into confidence while changing the quota.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali, announced a short order in the appeals filed by the private Haj operators against the Sindh High Court (SHC) April 16 judgment that turned down their request for res-
toring their quota of 50 percent.

In the new Haj policy, private Haj operators’ quota was reduced from 50% to 40% but the private operators did not accept the policy and challenged it in the Sindh High Court.They requested the court to increase their Haj quota but their plea was rejected by the court against which they filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.

According to the new Haj policy, 2016, some 143,000 pilgrims would perform Haj.On Tuesday, the apex court after hearing the learned counsel for the petitioners and law officers of the Federation announced a short order, restoring the quota earlier fixed for the government and private Haj operators 50 percent each.

“Reasons to be recorded separately and the petitions are converted into appeals and allowed in the terms that quota of private and public sector restored to that which was earlier fixed as 50 percent each,” the court announced in a short order.Soon after the announcement of the court, a large number of private Haj tour operators, clad in white suits with white caps present in the courtroom No1, began to congratulate each other with
jubilant gestures and appreciated their respective lawyers, including Muhammad
Akram Sheikh and Abid Zubairi.Earlier, during the course of hearing, Abid Zubairi, counsel for some private Haj operators, questioned the constitution of a committee if the government itself had to formulate the Haj policy.

The court asked as to why the government felt the need for changing the provision of quota for the public and private Haj operators when earlier the Haj operations remained successful with 50 percent quota each.

Muhammad Akram Sheikh, counsel for some private Haj operators, told the court that the government made the changes with mala fide intentions.Rana Waqar, Additional Attorney General, however, submitted before the court that there was an intensive demand from both the houses of parliament and the general public for increasing the government quota from 50 to 60 percent.

He pleaded that there was no mala fide intention on the part of the government in increasing its quota from 50 to 60 percent and reducing the quota of private Haj operators from 50 to 40 percent. He said the step was taken in order to accommodate the maximum pilgrims, providing cheaper Haj packages.

He said that it was the fundamental constitutional obligation of the state to have monopoly and the government did not take the step with mala fide intention.Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, however, observed that before making changes in the quota, the government should have taken all the stakeholders and private Haj operators into confidence.

He observed that due to lack of confidence among the institutions when a step was taken by an institution even in good faith, it was seen with suspicion.