Second round of Hajj balloting delayed

LAHORE: The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony on Sunday delayed another round of Hajj balloting scheduled to be held on May 20 (today).

According to the ministry, the new date will be announced after getting approval from the federal cabinet.

The ministry, through the balloting to be held at 3pm, was going to facilitate 9,474 more Hajj pilgrims as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had recently revised the quota for Pakistani pilgrims.

The Saudi government had increased the Hajj quota for Pakistani pilgrims to 200,000 from the previous 184,210.

Balloting for government Hajj Scheme to be held tomorrow

The ministry had decided to divide the additional quota of around 16,000 pilgrims as per the existing formula under which 60 per cent of the seats go to the government Haj scheme, while 40pc are granted to the private sector.

Monday's ballot was to include only those aspiring pilgrims who had applied for Hajj under the government scheme for 2019 but could not succeed.

Saudi Arabia has included Pakistan in its "Road to Makkah" project, which will allow pilgrims to undergo immigration clearance at Pakistani airports before leaving for Hajj.

Riyadh, on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan, also decided to provide e-visa facility to Pakistani pilgrims. Under the facility, intending pilgrims will be provided visas at their doorstep.

Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Dr Noorul Haq Qadri had announced in February that the immigration facility was being extended to Lahore and Islamabad, after Karachi.