JEDDAH: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have formally signed an agreement outlining the arrangements and facilities for Haj 2026.
The agreement was signed in Jeddah by Saudi Deputy Minister for Haj and Umrah Dr Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat and Pakistan’s Secretary for Religious Affairs Dr Syed Ata ur Rehman.
Dr Ata ur Rehman expressed gratitude to the Saudi government for its continued efforts in providing excellent facilities and services to the guests of Allah during Haj.
He said that as in previous years, Pakistani pilgrims will be provided with high quality services during the upcoming pilgrimage.
The secretary reaffirmed the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ commitment to ensuring timely and effective arrangements for both the government and private Haj schemes in accordance with Saudi government guidelines.
The federal cabinet introduced key changes to the distribution of Haj quotas this year.
Under the Haj policy 2026, the government Haj scheme quota has been increased to 70 percent while the private Haj tour operators were allocated 30 percent of the total quota.
In 2025, Pakistan’s total Haj quota was 179,210 equally divided between the government and private sectors. However, due to significant mismanagement, over 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims were unable to perform Haj this year.
The revised policy aims to ensure better oversight transparency and accessibility for pilgrims opting for the government scheme.