Mandatory Advance Payments: Hajj application submissions commence

ISLAMABAD: The collection of Hajj applications commenced from Friday on a first come, first servedbasis.  According to a private news channel, political workers, journalists and even government officials will be required to pay the Hajj fee in advance.  Machine readable passports and national identity cards will be compulsory for eligibility.  It may be mentioned that an increase of 20,000 pilgrims has been registered in the country’s Hajj quota, and no one will be allowed to perform Hajj for free. The pilgrims who will submit their applications first will be given accommodation near the Masjid-al-Haram.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2011.