'Hajj scheme likely to end next year'

The secretary emphasised that reduction in number of private companies was a result of the agreement with Saudi Arabia

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Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Dr. Zulfiqar Haider, has suggested that the government plans to withdraw from handling Hajj arrangements.

He indicated that, starting next year (2026), the entire Hajj program may be allocated to private operators, as reported by Express News.

Dr. Haider made these comments during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, which was chaired by Senator Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman on Tuesday.

He revealed that, on the directives of Saudi Arabia, the number of companies operating for Hajj had been reduced from 500 to 162 last year. He added that the ministry intended to step away from managing Hajj arrangements in the future.

The secretary further mentioned that next year, all Hajj operations might be carried out by private operators. However, he warned that private Hajj operators must withdraw their cases from court, or their quotas would be revoked. Initially, 904 private companies were registered for Hajj operations.

He also discussed that Saudi Arabia had expressed concern over the large number of companies involved. As a result, the number of companies was reduced to 46, with each company receiving a quota of 2,000 pilgrims. The private Hajj operators expressed that they had received 80 complaints regarding private Hajj services, while 18,000 complaints were reported about the government-run Hajj scheme.

In response, the Additional Secretary explained that Saudi authorities were unwilling to deal with such a large number of companies and had ordered the reduction. Private Hajj operators have also approached the Sindh High Court, and the court has asked for the meeting minutes, which may impact the private operators' quotas. If the issue is delayed, Saudi Arabia may cancel the private quota altogether.

The committee discussed resolving the issue of private Hajj operators' complaints. Minority member Dr. Dinesh Kumar suggested potential solutions to address the differences between Hajj operators and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The Chairman of the committee, Maulana Ataur Rahman, humorously remarked that Dr. Dinesh Kumar seemed to have conducted four Hajj pilgrimages based on his arguments, which lightened the mood in the committee. Dr. Kumar responded that he had detailed knowledge of Hajj and had previously quoted Quranic verses in the Senate against interest-based transactions.

The Secretary also highlighted that if the private Hajj operators did not withdraw their cases, their quotas could be cancelled, and the quota could potentially be handed over to India or Afghanistan. If Saudi Arabia revoked the quota, Pakistan would not object.

The Senate committee urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the private Hajj operators to work together to resolve the issue of the number of companies. The Secretary clarified that the ministry could not go against Saudi Arabia’s policy, as a formal agreement had been made.

The Secretary emphasized that the reduction in the number of private companies was a result of the agreement with Saudi Arabia, and the Federal Cabinet had approved this decision. Due to this agreement, the federal government cannot review the Hajj policy.

Private Hajj operators mentioned that they had already sent advance payments to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj arrangements. The committee clarified that without a formal agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the private operators would not receive the Hajj quota, and any advance payments sent to Saudi Arabia could be wasted.

The committee instructed the private Hajj operators to finalize their agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs as soon as possible. The Secretary stated that sending money to Saudi Arabia without an agreement with the Ministry was an illegal action.

Maulana Ataur Rahman reiterated that if the stay order was not lifted, the quota would be lost, which would significantly harm the country's reputation.