RIYADH – The government of Saudi Arabia has announced the details regarding the upcoming Hajj as the preparations for the annual pilgrimage enter the final round.
As per the details shared by local media outlets, the issuance of Hajj visas will commence on March 1 while the arrival of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia will begin on the first day of Dhul Qaidah, corresponding to May 9.
As far as the allocation of places to the pilgrims is concerned, the government has also amended the mechanism under which no specific places would be allotted for countries at the holy sites.
As per the fresh framework, places for different countries will be designated depending on finalizing contracts.
“The country that concludes early contracts will be given the priority in taking the appropriate places in the holy places,” Gulf News quoted Saudi Ministry of Hajj Tawfiq Al Rabiah as saying.
The government of the holy kingdom is also finalizing arrangements for transporting pilgrims for which around 21,000 buses are being readied to serve pilgrims during the Hajj season.
As per a car union, the buses would transport around 2 million pilgrims this year; 65 companies have provided the buses as of now.
The government of Saudi Arabia has finalized Hajj agreements with multiple countries including Pakistan; the Hajj is scheduled in June.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, the government has conducted balloting to select successful applicants under the government Hajj scheme. This is the first time that the government has also offered the opportunity of a Short Hajj to pilgrims which is a bit more expensive than the long 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 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.
