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ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the country’s history, Pakistan agreed on Wednesday to hand over the government’s remaining Hajj quota to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) due to a lack of applicants due to rising prices.
According to sources, a quota for Hajj pilgrimage was still available in the country for the first time, as a lack of funds and rising prices discouraged Pakistanis from applying for Hajj.
In this regard, the administration has chosen to hand up the remainder of the government’s Hajj quota to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). According to sources, the federal cabinet will make the ultimate decision on returning the Hajj quota.
According to sources, the authorities considered distributing the official Hajj quota to private operators after the government scheme received few applications.
However, this solution would necessitate private operators collecting dollars on the open market, creating unnecessary demand for foreign money.
According to sources, Pakistan received a quota of 179,000 pilgrims after many years, although it was not fully exploited. Under the government system, a quota of 89,605 Hajj pilgrims was established. However, the government fell short of its target of 9,000 applicants.
According to the breakdown, the government got 72,869 applications for the normal plan and only 8,000 applications for the sponsorship scheme.
Furthermore, 28,679 additional applications were received within the official regular procedure, compared to the quota of 44,190. Without a lucky lottery, additional applicants are being sent for Hajj pilgrimage.
According to sources, the government proposal would require a total of $235 million.
