Collecting Rs90b Hajj applications cross 300k mark

It contrasts with last year’s 281,000 applications

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs, and Interfaith Harmony has received 338,673 Hajj applications under the government sponsorship scheme through designated branches of 10 selected banks of the country in the past 10 days.

Last year, the Ministry received 281,000 applications, of which 71,000 were accepted.

According to data shared by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, it collected nearly Rs90 billion and this is the first time in the history that the ministry received more than 300,000 Hajj applications.



The highest number of Hajj applications, 77,475, were received by Habib Bank Limited, followed by MCB Bank 73,221, United Bank Limited 46,633, Meezan Bank Limited 45,494, Allied Bank Limited 33,211, National Bank of Pakistan 29,799, ZTBL 9,967, Bank Al- Falah 7,618 and Habib Metropolitan Bank 6,847.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony started receiving Hajj applications between April 17 and April 26, the last date for the submission of Hajj applications.

According to the schedule announced by the ministry, balloting for successful applicants will be held on April 28.

Under the new Hajj policy this year, which was approved on April 12, as many as 179,210 applicants will perform Hajj this year after an agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia for a boost in quota.

Interestingly, the ministry received Hajj applications at the rates it had earlier fixed despite orders given by the PM to reduce the same by Rs10,000.



According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, total cost of the Haj package for people travelling from northern regions amounted to Rs280,000 while people from southern parts of the country, such as Karachi, Quetta and Sukkur, would need to pay Rs270,000.

A senior official of the Ministry of Religious Affairs told The Express Tribune that preference would be given to people performing Hajj for the first time or those who had performed Hajj at least seven years ago.

“This year, a mechanism has been devised under which Hajj applications of persons who had performed Hajj in 2010 and onwards will be rejected automatically during online submission at banks,” he said.

The official said that this year, the online submission of Hajj applications was upgraded to avoid human errors and ensure complete transparency in the submission of the Hajj applications.

This year, all applicants and receivers at banks were required to sign the computerised printed receipts after the submission of the Hajj applications, the official said.

Moreover, as soon as the Hajj applications were submitted and verified, they were uploaded on the ministry’s official website, enabling all applicants to get confirmations, adding that this process would also eliminate all errors and mistakes besides keeping track of all applications.

“The Ministry trained all bank staff beforehand,” said the official.

The next federal cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held in the first week of May, therefore, the Ministry of Religious Affairs will brief the PM about the reasons for increasing the Hajj expenses.

“If the ministry failed to satisfy the PM, the extra amount would be refunded to the applicants and rates will be fixed in accordance with the PM’s orders,” said the official.