Hajj to cost a pilgrim in range of Rs1,150,000 to Rs1,250,000: govt
This was stated by Ministry of Religious Affairs Secretary Dr Syed Ataur Rehman, while chairing the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs.
The committee was informed that the 64,000 pilgrims who were supposed to perform Hajj through private tour operators but unable to perform Hajj because of delay and lack of coordination between the Ministry and Saudi Government, dot not have to pay additional amount to perform Hajj.
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammed Yousaf said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif already told the ministry to give priority to those pilgrims who were unable to perform Hajj because of change in policy by the Saudi Government which the ministry was unable to implement on time.
On this issue, Senator Aon Abbas presented the report of the sub-committee on the findings and reasons which deprived large number of pilgrims managed by private tour operators from performing the Hajj.
He said in the past, 902 tour operators used to provide services to pilgrims but this year the Saudi Government reduced their number to 42.
He said those 42 tour operators did not have the capacity to manage such a huge number of pilgrims.
He said the restriction of State Bank to provide foreign exchange only up to $0.3 million to tour operators also caused lot of problems for them.
Apart from this, the attitude of the Ministry of Religious Affairs was not cooperative towards the tour operators, he added. He said the DG Hajj because of unprecedented powers was not answerable to anyone.
Senator Aon Abbas, in his recommendations, said that the committee should directed the ministry that from now on, the DG Hajj should be appointed on merit and he must be familiar with Saudi culture and must know Arabic.
He said the committee and the ministry should also urge the State Bank to increase the buying limit of dollars for the tour operators from $0.3 million to $1 million.
Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said that the government should have taken Shia and other Ulemas on board before barring pilgrims from travelling to Iraq and Iran by road for this year's Arbaeen pilgrimage due to regional security concerns.
He said thousands of Zaireen had already deposited billions of rupees to tour operators for the pilgrimage to holy places in Iran and Iraq.
He said the air fare for Iran and Iraq is very high which the majority of pilgrims cannot afford.
Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammed Yousaf said that the Interior Ministry made this decision after consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Balochistan Government, and key security agencies.
He said that the restriction is based on safety and national security concerns linked to threats along the land routes.
He said despite the ban on road travel, the government will facilitate pilgrims through air travel.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to arrange as many flights as possible to accommodate Zaireen in the coming days.
Officials said the decision aims to ensure public safety while allowing religious pilgrims to continue their journey by other means.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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