ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Muhammad Talha Mahmood surprised many with the expected Hajj expenses for next year.
The minister said the next year’s Hajj expenses can be significantly reduced by up to fifty percent due to timely measures taken by the government.
Addressing an event organized in Islamabad, the minister credited the success of this year’s Hajj to the exemplary arrangements made by the Saudi Arabian government.
Mehmood also assured to return the surplus funds from pilgrims’ expenses and announced the provision of free medicines worth millions of rupees through pharmaceutical cooperation; he also reiterated that no free Hajj was granted to anyone this time.
Pakistan’s quota for Hajj 2023 was 179,210 pilgrims. This was the first time that the government of Saudi Arabia restored the number of pilgrims to pre-Covid levels and welcomed a total of over 2 million pilgrims.
For Pakistan, a 50 percent quota has been reserved for the Sponsorship scheme which was a special facility given to Hajj pilgrims seeking foreign exchange from abroad in the specific dollar account of the religious affairs ministry. Nonetheless, there was no balloting for the Hajj applicants and whoever applied was given the opportunity to proceed for the pilgrimage as the number of applicants fell short of the quota.
It bears mentioning that the cost of Hajj for this year per pilgrim was Rs1.175 million for the north region and for the south region, the cost was Rs1.165 million. There has been a 68 percent increase in the cost, a rise of Rs 4,75,000 per pilgrim as compared to 2022.
If the cost for next year’s Hajj is slashed by 50 percent as said by the minister, the cash-strapped Pakistanis would be able to perform the religious ritual; however, as the country is about to hold general elections, it is still not sure who would be the next religious affairs minister and how this 50 percent reduction in cost would become a reality.
