179,210 Pakistanis to perform Haj under 2023 policy

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Cabinet on Monday granted approval for Haj policy 2023 under which out of the allocated quota for Pakistan, 50 percent will be allocated for a sponsorship scheme going to be remitted dollars from abroad in order to save multimillion requirement of foreign exchange from inside Pakistan.

The ECC which met under the Chairmanship of Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar on Monday approved a summary tabled by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony which states that the foreign exchange cover required for this year’s government Haj Scheme is $284 million.

The rupee cover for matching purposes against this allocation shall be provided from the Pilgrims Welfare Fund (PWF) Haj collection account of this Ministry. If the full quota of the Government Sponsorship Scheme is utilised, then its dues will amount to $194 million as the intending pilgrims of the sponsorship scheme will deposit total Haj dues including airfare and service charges in foreign exchange. In that case, $90 million (284 minus 194) will be required from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Finance Division, in consultation with the SBP, will devise a mechanism for remitting the foreign exchange collected through government and Private Haj schemes, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for payment of Haj expenditures.

The Haj quota allocated to Pakistan for the year 2023 is 179,210, which shall be distributed between the government and Private Haj schemes at a ratio of 50:50. Out of the government and Private Haj schemes, a quota of 50% each shall be reserved for Sponsorship Scheme, under which applicants shall be required to deposit their Haj dues in foreign exchange remitted from abroad and will not be allowed to deposit the Haj dues from the foreign currency accounts in Pakistan.

The Sponsorship Scheme of the Government Haj quota is expected to generate about $194 million and the Private Haj Scheme are expected to generate more than $250 million, depending on the cost of various packages and applications received for it. It will ease the foreign exchange burden on the government. The sponsorship scheme of the Government Haj quota shall be utilised on a first come first served basis.

MORA&IH shall decide about the unutilised quota of the sponsorship scheme and its allocation to regular/private schemes or return to KSA. For the year 2023, the tentative Haj package for the North region (Multan, Lahore, Sialkot, Islamabad Rahim Yar Khan, Faisalabad and Peshawar) is Rs1,175,000/- and for the South region (Karachi, Sukkur and Quetta) is Rs1,165,000/. There is no age limit for Haj pilgrims this year. The intending pilgrims who have performed Haj within the last 05 Haj years i.e. 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 years are ineligible for Haj 2023, however, intending pilgrims of the sponsorship scheme are exempted from this bar.

A Place of Departure (POD) wise waiting list of Haj pilgrims comprising of only 0.5% of government Haj quota shall be maintained. All the applicants are required to have CNIC and Machine- Readable Passport with a validity period of 26-12-2023.

It is mandatory for the applicants to have a valid bank account 3% of the total seats under the government scheme shall be reserved for hardship cases. The 300 seats shall be reserved for labour/low-paid employees of companies registered with the EOBI and Workers Welfare Fund. Their selection will be made through separate balloting.

It is mandatory for women to be accompanied by a Mahram. Haj Medical Mission, Muavineen-i-Hujjaj, Seasonal staff of the MORA &IH and the KSA-based Muavineen-i-Hujjaj shall be deployed for facilitation/assistance of Hujjaj as per requirements and laid down procedure.

The “Road to Makkah” project facility will continue at Islamabad airport. Efforts are on to extend the facility to airports in the provincial capitals. The Haj Group Organisers (HGOs) shall sign Service Provider Agreement (SPA) with the Ministry and shall be monitored by the trained staff of the ministry to ensure the facilitation of Haj pilgrims.

The ECC also approved a Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs12 billion in favour of the Planning Commission for the conduct of the 7th Population & Housing Census and Rs3,244 million in favour of the Poverty Alleviation & Social Safety for National Poverty Graduation Programme (NPGP).

The ECC deferred a summary presented by the Ministry of National Food Security & Research on the Urea Fertilizer requirement for the year 2023 with direction to incorporate the recommendations of the Committee framed by the ECC on the gas distribution plan headed by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The ECC also deferred another summary submitted by the Ministry of Industries and Production on Solar Panel & Allied Equipment Manufacturing Policy-2023 with the direction to review and revise the proposed policy considering inputs from all stakeholders.