Ministry ignores PM’s order to cut Hajj rates

SC directs Ministry of Religious Affairs to accommodate newly enrolled Hajj companies in a fair and legal manner

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs continues to receive Hajj applications as per the rates fixed by the ministry paying no heed to the prime minister’s directives to revise and reduce the rates, it was learnt on Friday.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has received 208,720 Haj applications in five days under the government scheme through designated banks in the country.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while approving the new Haj policy 2017 during the federal cabinet meeting on April 12, expressed reservations over (high) Haj expenses and directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to revise the rates and present a summary in the next cabinet meeting.



Considering this year’s Haj expenses costlier by Rs10,000 when compared with last year’s, the prime minister directed the ministry to charge the same amount as last year from the people.

This year the total Haj package for people travelling from northern region will be Rs280,000 and for people travelling from the southern region like Karachi, Quetta and Sukkur Rs270, 000.

Meanwhile, talking to The Express Tribune, an official of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who wished not to be named, said the ministry is working on revising Haj expenses fixed this year as per the directions of the prime minister.

“However, this year the rates have been fixed considering the increase in the prices of various things, facilities, airfare and services to be provided to the pilgrims,” said the official.



The official said every year the Ministry of Religious Affairs refunds the amount unutilised during Haj to the pilgrims.

Supreme Court judgment

The apex court on Friday directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to accommodate newly enrolled Haj companies in a fair, transparent and legal manner.

The Supreme Court (SC) has disposed of all the contempt petitions against the ministry’s secretary and others for implementation of its judgments.

The full bench, headed by Justice Ijaz Afzal, directed allocation of Haj quotas to new companies on merit and observed that non-allocation of Haj quota to new entrants is against the Constitution.

Advocate Mohammad Azhar Siddique, on behalf of petitioner Arif Idrees, filed contempt petition representing more than 60 new Haj Group Organisers (HGOs), while Kamran Murtaza, Sardar Muhammad Aslam and others, through their advocate Syed Ali Zafar, filed contempt petition on behalf of 200 new Haj group companies.