ISLAMABAD – The government is visibly alarmed as the response shown by the overseas Pakistanis for the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme is poor.
The government had announced the continuation of the Sponsorship Scheme for overseas Pakistanis to perform Hajj without the need for balloting; however, the scheme has failed to attract applicants for the upcoming Hajj.
The government launched the scheme last year to attract foreign currency as overseas Pakistanis had to deposit the Hajj fee in US Dollars; however, the scheme has failed to attract overseas Pakistanis this year.
Though official figures are awaited, media reports say that only 2800 applications have been received by the ministry under the Sponsorship Scheme though the quota available to the government is 25,000 seats under the scheme, Geo News reported.
To attract the Pakistanis, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has also written to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis to inform the Pakistanis living abroad about the Hajj scheme and the benefits associated with it.
Moreover, to aware the masses, the ministry has also decided to seek the assistance of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the number of applications falls way below the seats allocated to Pakistan. The government has already extended the deadline for submission of applications from December 12th to December 22nd and has also lifted the ban on those who had performed Hajj in the last 5 years.
Those who have a valid passport valid till December 16th, 2024 are eligible to apply while if someone has applied for a passport, the token number can also be provided in the application which is also acceptable.
The Short and Long Hajj package is available to both regular applicants and Sponsorship Scheme applicants for the upcoming Hajj.
As far as the Long Hajj is concerned, it would encompass 38-42 days with 8 days stay in Medinah 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 North region.
For Short Hajj package, the cost for regular Hajj applicants is Rs 11,40,000 for South region while the cost is Rs 11,50,000 for North region; the Hajj would continue for 20-25 days under this scheme.
For Sponsorship Scheme, the cost for Short Hajj is $ 4015 USD for South region and $ 4050 for North region.
