'Private Hajj quota' lost due to negligence

Express Tribune

24-05-2025

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The religious affairs minister on Friday confirmed that this year, only 25,698 pilgrims will be able to perform Hajj under the private Hajj scheme, as the quota was not utilised properly due to negligence and delays in completing the necessary procedures on time.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside the secretary of the ministry of religious affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousuf said the Hajj policy was approved in November 2024 while he took charge of the ministry in March, 2025.
He said according to Pakistan's Hajj policy, the total quota of 179,210 pilgrims was divided equally between the government and private schemes.
"The arrangements for the government scheme were fully handled by the ministry and in accordance with Saudi directives, the entire government quota was utilised within the deadline, payments were completed, and approvals obtained.
"However, the private sector, which includes NGOs and clusters of tour operators, failed to comply with the instructions. They know the reasons for this failure. They were equally informed and involved in coordination with the Saudi authorities and the ministry," he said.
He said the operators missed the deadline and sought to continue operating under old companies, which was against Saudi regulations.
"Under the new rules, only those companies with a minimum cluster of 500 pilgrims could operate. For 2025, the companies were to have a quota of at least 2,000 pilgrims."
Yousuf said 904 companies formed clusters to meet the 2,000-pilgrim target. They were monitored by their umbrella organisation HOPE, which was responsible for overseeing and implementing the policy.
"HOPE was given a February 14 deadline to deposit 25% of the amount required for the process to proceed. However, bookings could not proceed without these payments.
"By February 14, only 3,600 pilgrims had deposited their payments. Even after a one-week extension and an additional 48 hours, the total only reached around 13,600," he said.
Realising the issue, the minister said, he personally travelled to Saudi Arabia and requested an extension. However, the Saudi authorities clarified that global Hajj policy cannot be altered for one country.
He then briefed the prime minister, who took immediate notice and directed the foreign minister to intervene. Following diplomatic efforts, Saudi Arabia granted an additional quota of 10,000 pilgrims for Pakistan, which was equally offered to other Muslim countries as well.
"As a result, 25,698 pilgrims will now perform Hajj under the private scheme this year.
"The Saudi government is not granting any additional Hajj quota, and those who have been left out under the private scheme will not be accommodated this year. All Hajj flights will be completed by 30 May and all arrangements will conclude from this end," he added.
According to Yousuf, the Saudi Minister for Hajj confirmed that the timeline was clearly stated in the official agreement, which was signed by HOPE's representative Waheed Butt.
"Some people now claim ignorance, but the ministry had fulfilled its duty responsibly and issued timely instructions. It issued repeated public notices, urging pilgrims to confirm their bookings only through authorised companies, and not proceed without verification."
The minister acknowledged the disappointment felt by pilgrims who could not proceed due to the operators' negligence, stating that the government is aware of this and action will be taken.
"The PM has already formed an inquiry committee, and action will follow after the report is submitted," he said.
When asked about mismanagement of funds by private tour operators, the religious affairs secretary said out of the required 700 million riyals, only 50 million riyals were deposited in the account of the DG Hajj.
"These were mistakenly sent to outdated accounts, but the issue was resolved and the amount returned by January. Even those funds could have been used for bookings."