Special cabinet committee to supervise implementation of Hajj Policy

Committee recommends previous percentage of Hajj quota to be restored for Hajj this year

The Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf has said that a special committee of the cabinet will supervise implementation of the Hajj Policy 2018, in Islamabad.

Briefing the Standing Committee on Religious Affairs in the capital, he said all efforts will be made to facilitate the pilgrims.

The Hajj policy was unveiled in December 2017 with the expenses retained at 2016's level and an increase in the quota for the government scheme.

The policy, which was approved by the federal cabinet recently, was announced by Sardar Muhammad Yousaf at a press conference. He said the reason behind the early announcement of the policy was to begin the Hajj preparations well in time in order to avoid any inconvenience for the pilgrims.



He said expenses for Hajj through the government scheme had not been increased. The cost for pilgrims from Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is Rs280,000 and for Sindh and Balochistan Rs270,000.

The committee recommended that the previous percentage of Hajj quota which was 60/40 per cent might be restored for Hajj this year.

The minister said 179,210 people from Pakistan would perform Hajj under the government and private schemes. The quota for the government scheme has been increased to 120,000. Of them, 10,000 slots have been allocated for people above 80 years of age and another 10,000 for those who could not succeed in balloting during the past three years. Balloting will be held if the number of applicants exceeds the allocated seats. The minister said 59,210 people would perform Hajj under private scheme.

Anyone who has performed Hajj under the government scheme will not be eligible to apply again.