Top court restores 50% private Hajj quota

Supreme Court rejects cut in share of tour operators

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has set aside the judgment of the honourable Sindh High Court at Karachi and restored the 50 per cent quota of private Hajj organisers by allowing the appeals filed by Hajj Organisers Association of Pakistan and others.

Barrister Abid S Zuberi assisted by Barrister Ayan M Memon led the arguments on behalf of the petitioners against the government’s decision to cut their share by 10 per cent.



While announcing its Hajj Policy 2016, the government had slashed the quota of private tour operators for Hajj, citing ‘larger public interest’ to accommodate more pilgrims.

The private organisations, however, went to the Sindh High Court against the new policy. But on April 15 the SHC rejected the petition, forcing them to file an appeal in the apex court.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court set aside the high court’s judgment after two days of hearing.



The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, announced a short order over the tour operators’ plea. The reason of the verdict will be released later.

During the hearing, the judges voiced dissatisfaction over the government’s stance about the 10 per cent reduction in quota of private Hajj organisers.



Additional Attorney General (AAG) Waqar Rana contended the cut was made in the best interest of the public and that it was the job of the executive to formulate the policy.

However, the chief justice remarked that the court was examining whether the rights of private tour operators were being infringed or not. He added the lack of confidence on institutions was a major issue because of past experiences.

Justice Jamali observed the government should have taken all stakeholders on board before announcing the Hajj policy for this year.

Once the government agreed a five-year understanding with private tour operators for maintaining the 50 percent quota, then why was the commitment not honoured, he asked.

Advocate Akram Sheikh, one of the counsel for the petitioners, argued the government’s decision to formulate such a policy was based on mala fide intentions.



AAG Rana contended, however, the people would benefit from the increased government quota as government hajj scheme was cheaper than a private Hajj.

He added the Hajj Formulation Committee also did not object to the reduction of Hajj quota of private sector in the meeting as their quota was not their vested right.

The government also submitted that Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies had passed resolutions, urging the federal government not to allow private operators from doing business in the name of Hajj and Umrah packages.

The top court, however, set aside the earlier decision of the SHC and ordered restoring the previous quota for private tour operators.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2016.