87,813 applicants have been finalised under government-run hajj scheme

17,563 applicants have been put on waiting list till final SHC ruling on Hajj quota

ISLAMABAD: The names of 87,813 applicants were finalised on Friday, who would be performing Hajj this year under the government-run scheme through open computerised balloting.

Balloting for the government-run scheme was conducted by Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousaf. There were 105,376 applications.

Meanwhile, 17,563 applicants have been put on the waiting list till the final ruling of the Sindh High Court on the Hajj quota.

The balloting was done at the committee room of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.



The minister also announced that in Pakistan hajj operation will officially start from 1st of Zil Hajj and out of the total the number of pilgrims, 50% will travel to Madina and 50% to Makkah.

Sharing details about the balloting, he said: “While formulating the hajj policy and taking into account the recommendations given by the various stakeholders, the government has fixed 60% (107,526) hajj quota for the people who would perform hajj under the government scheme and 40% (71,684) for people who would go through private tour operators.”

The total number of applications received this year stood at 338,682, divided into 89,040 groups, out of which 107,216 had to perform hajj this year under the government hajj scheme, he said.

However few private tour operators refused to accept 60% quota fixed by the government and demanded to revise it to 50%, he said.



“They have taken the matter to the Sindh High Court; therefore, considering the current situation, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has selected pilgrims on 50% quota till the final ruling will come and has put 10% on the waiting list,” said Yousaf.

Moreover, all 338,682 applicants have been informed about the result of the balloting through the SMS service, he said.

“All successful candidates have been requested to submit their passports by May 8 in respective banks branches,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, those applicants who have been refused are requested to refund their amount from the banks and for that they do not required any formal approval from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, he said.



Moreover if they face any kind of issues in refunding, then they can lodge their complaints with the account officer of Ministry of religious Affairs on this number 051-9208465.

On April 12, the federal cabinet approved the Hajj Policy 2017 that would allow approximately 179,210 applicants from Pakistan to perform hajj this year after an agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia for an enhanced quota.