ISLAMABAD: Communications Minister Maulana Asad Mahmood has said that 32,000 successful Hajj applicants will be announced today, whereas, the details of the remaining applicants will also be unveiled, ARY News reported on Sunday.
Maulana Asad Mahmood said 31,253 aspiring pilgrims will perform Hajj this year as Pakistan was given the quota of 86,000 pilgrims in 2022. The names of 32,000 successful applicants will be announced after balloting today in accordance with the 40 per cent government quota.
The federal minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to fix affordable Hajj expenses for pilgrims. The final Hajj package will be announced after Saudi Arabia’s plan.
READ: SAUDI ARABIA TO HOST 1 MILLION HAJJ PILGRIMS IN 2022
“People aged over 65 years cannot perform Hajj. Hajj directorate is in contact with the Saudi officials while federal minister for religious affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor is also present in Saudi Arabia.”
Maulana Mahmood said that the unsuccessful applicants could receive their fees from the banks.
Quota for pilgrims
The religious affairs ministry has finalised arrangements with 81,000 allowed to travel to the Kingdom this year.
The quota for pilgrims has been divided into 60% and 40% for private and government tour operators respectively, it was learnt. Sources added in 2019, 180,000 pilgrims travelled from Pakistan for Hajj.
READ: HAJJ 2022: SAUDI ARABIA SETS AGE LIMIT FOR PILGRIMS
The sources further shared that Pakistani airlines will be operating Hajj operations and their fare would range between Rs180,000 to Rs280,000.
It has been further recommended to charge Rs945,000 for government-facilitated Hajj while private tour operators will be allowed to charge above Rs1.2 million for the pilgrimage.
They further shared that it would be mandatory for the pilgrims to carry smartphones while it would also be compulsory to have a Saudi SIM and internet package.
It is to be noted that Saudi Arabia has allotted the second-highest quota of Hajj pilgrims to Pakistan after the Kingdom allowed one million people to perform the holy pilgrimage this year.
Saudi Arabia has allotted the highest quota of Hajj pilgrims to Indonesia, followed by Pakistan. As many as 81,132 pilgrims would be able to travel to the Kingdom to perform Hajj in 2022.
