NA body ends free Hajj facility for ministers, VIPs

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Thursday decided to revoke the free Hajj facility for ministers, bureaucrats, Khuddam and VIPS.

PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan, while speaking to journalists, announced that the NA body will end the free Hajj facility for government officers and Khuddam.

He said that everybody, including the prime minister, ministers and any political figure would not be allowed to perform Hajj free of cost.

Meanwhile, the PAC also sought details of those who had been performing Hajj without spending a penny of their own within 15 days from the ministry concerned and the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR).

According to the PAC, the country is under a heavy debt burden. The poor are paying taxes while the government officers are enjoying free Hajj facilities.

The government will recover the amount from the officers whose families performed Hajj for free and the money will then be deposited in the national exchequer, Khan vowed, terming the free Hajj facility a "burden" on the taxpayers.