RIYADH – To facilitate Pakistani Muslim contact their loved ones in Saudi Arabia, Zong has offered a special call offer and reduced tariffs as the Hajj season begins.
In an official statement on Friday, the operator announced that Pakistanis can now subscribe to its exclusive IDD Saudi Arabia offer for just Rs2+tax per day, facilitating pulse-based calling at Rs0.70/second.
“The offer aims to enable Pakistanis to maintain connections with their loved ones either performing Hajj in 2024 or residing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),” the telecom provider stated in a press release.
Asserting its commitment to meet customer demands, Zong pledged to expand its International Dialing portfolio with more innovative products and services.
The offer comes as around 160,000 Pakistanis are set to land in the holy kingdom for performing the Hajj which is slated to begin from June 14th.
Regarding the total number of pilgrims from across the world, the Saudi government is gearing up to welcome around 2 million pilgrims.
For Pakistan, the government has introduced both the Short Hajj and Long Hajj packages with different rates to facilitate diverse groups of Muslims.
As far as the Long Hajj is concerned, it would encompass 38-42 days with 8 days stay in Madinah and those flying from the South region i.e. Karachi, and Sukkhur would have to pay Rs 10,65,000 while those from other cities i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabad would pay Rs 10,75,000.
For Sponsorship scheme applicants, the cost is $3765 for the South Region while it is $ 3800 for the North Region for those opting for the Long Hajj package.
For the Short Hajj package, the cost for regular Hajj applicants is Rs 11,40,000 for the South region while the cost is Rs 11,50,000 for the North region; the Hajj would continue for 20-25 days under this scheme.
For the Sponsorship Scheme, the cost for Short Hajj is $ 4015 USD for the South region and $ 4050 for North region.