Govt actively trying to send maximum number of pilgrims for Haj: minister

ISLAMABAD: After securing an additional Haj quota, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said on Sunday that the government was actively making efforts to send the maximum number of pilgrims to fulfill the sacred religious obligation.

His statement came days after the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony announced that a total of 23,620 pilgrims from Pakistan will be able to perform Haj in 2025 under the Private Haj Scheme, while the fate of remaining 67,000 pilgrims hangs in the balance.

Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’ today, the religious affairs minister said that 10,000 more Pakistanis were allowed to perform the pilgrimage privately.

Last week, Saudi Arabia granted an additional Hajj quota to Pakistan, allowing 10,000 additional pilgrims to perform Haj this year following a request by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Taking to his X handle, DPM Dar expressed gratitude to the kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud for granting the additional Hajj quota.

The minister said: “We are trying to enable as many of the 179,210 applicants as possible to perform Haj. Of them, 50 percent are going under the government scheme, and their arrangements are complete.”

Giving details, the minister said that he visited the kingdom and held meeting with his Saudi counterpart to discuss issues related to the Haj. “We requested that they [Saudi Arabia’s government] extend the deadline so that our pilgrims are not left behind,” he added.

Responding to a question, the minister said: “This has not happened only in Pakistan, it’s happening elsewhere. In India, there are 52,000 pilgrims who want to perform Haj.”

When asked if the government would refund to those who could not travel to the kingdom, the minister said: “According to our Haj policy, there are agreements with tour operators under which the procedure [for booking Haj] has taken place.” “If money has entered the system under that procedure, then it is recorded. It is their right to refund if they are unable to perform the pilgrimage.”