Hajj applications to be collected from March 16: Minister.

ISLAMABAD -- Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor on Friday informed that the Federal Cabinet had approved the Hajj Policy 2023 the other day, therefore, the ministry had decided to collect the Hajj applications from March 16 to 31 through 14 designated banks.

Addressing a press conference here in the ministry, he said the Hajj balloting would be held on April 5 as per the schedule.

The minister said the ministry was charging the Hajj expenses from the government pilgrims as it would be spent on their facilities throughout the holy journey.

"According to the financial breakup, the estimated cost of Hajj from the Northern Region (Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot) is Rs 1,175,000, while for the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme (Northern Region) is approximately $4,325," he said, adding that the estimated cost of Hajj from Southern Region (Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur) was Rs 1,165,000 while for the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme (Southern Region) was approximately $ 4,285.

The minister assured that in case of savings from the above-mentioned Hajj package, it would be refunded to the Hajj pilgrims through the bank accounts provided by them, adding that the applicants of the Sponsorship Hajj Scheme having no bank accounts, would be provided money in cash.

He said last year, on his personal request, the mandatory Hajj expenses were reduced by the Saudi Minister for Hajj and Umrah, as compared to the previous year.

He said this time, global inflation had increased the cost of facilities in Pakistan as well as in Saudi Arabia. Apart from this, the fall in the value of Pakistani rupee had a significant impact on the Hajj package.

Abdul Shakoor said last year, our pilgrims were not able to get train facilities, but this year, they could avail of the train facility in Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat. However, the pilgrims would have to bear the cost of this facility, he maintained.

He said due to the expansion project of the Haram in Madinah, the process of vacating and demolishing many residential units was underway, adding that all these issues had led to an overall increase in the cost of facilities.

He said despite all these factors, overseas Pakistanis would find it cheaper to perform Hajj from Pakistan than abroad. This year, the government Hajj scheme expenditure was lower than other countries in the region such as India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, he added.

Shedding light on the Sponsorship...