ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry has said that the incumbent government has not increased Hajj cost, reported ARY News on Monday.
Responding to the critics, in a tweet, “If today, the government is not able to give you subsidy, increasing gas prices, the root-cause behind this are the governments, who ruled for last 10 years.”
On Friday, lambasting the steep hike in the new Hajj policy, opposition senators had termed it as a “drone attack on pilgrims.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the government withdrew subsidy on the pilgrimage, increasing the expenses by Rs 176,000 for each pilgrim whereas the overall pilgrimage amounted to Rs 456,000.
Read more: Govt under fire for withdrawing Hajj subsidy
Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri briefed the cabinet meeting about the new Hajj Policy that was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to new Hajj Policy more than 1, 84000 Pakistanis would perform the religious ritual of Hajj this year, while 60 per cent quota would be reserved for the government and the remaining 40 per cent for private hajj tour operators.