Hajj Policy 2011: Adjournment in petitions on quotas

All tour operators demanded Hajj quota whereas Saudi Arabian government has imposed ban on quotas.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry on Monday adjourned the hearing of different petitions challenging the Haj Policy 2011 and alleged discriminatory allotment of the Hajj quota for May 27.

A reply on behalf of the Ministry for Religious Affairs was filed stating that the Hajj policy was formed in consultation with the Saudi government. All the tour operators have demanded a Hajj quota whereas the Saudi Arabian government has imposed a ban on quotas.

The chief justice was hearing different petitions filed by various tour operators challenging Hajj Policy 2011. The M/s Travel Shop (Pvt) Limited and twelve other Hajj tour operators have filed the petition. The petitions names the federal government, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Secretary of Religious Affairs, the Law Ministry, the director Hajj, the Competition Commission of Pakistan and seven others as respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2011.