ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs has extended the deadline for receiving Haj-2026 applications under the regular scheme till August 18, following an overwhelming response from intending pilgrims.
A spokesman for the ministry said that more than 110,000 applications had been received through scheduled banks and the ministry’s online portal in the past 12 days, up to August 16. While the online portal was closed at midnight on August 16, scheduled bank branches were allowed to continue accepting applications for another two days.
Applicants are required to deposit Rs500,000 and Rs550,000 for the long and short duration packages, respectively. Only about 7,000 seats now remain available under the government’s regular scheme, which will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis.
The spokesman noted that the federal cabinet’s decision to increase the government’s share of the Haj quota from 50 per cent to nearly 67 percent had proven timely, as it restored public confidence in the official scheme.
In contrast, the private scheme lost credibility after more than 63,000 seats allocated for Haj-2025 went unused for various reasons.
The government’s quota also includes 2,000 seats reserved for hardship cases and 1,000 for the labour community.
