Latest news with #HajjOrganisersAssociationofPakistan
Business Recorder
22-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
HOAP seeks govt's help to resolve visa issue facing intending pilgrims
KARACHI: Around 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims face uncertainty regarding their upcoming Hajj journey as visa approvals remain pending, prompting the Hajj Organisers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) to seek urgent government intervention. During a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday, HOAP Chairman Zaeem Akhtar appealed to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to secure a 72-hour permission from Saudi authorities to resolve the ongoing visa crisis. 'The majority of these 67,000 pilgrims have saved their entire lives for this sacred journey,' Akhtar said. 'We are facing unprecedented challenges with the visa confirmation process despite following all required procedures.' According to Muhammad Saeed, HOAP's media coordinator, data for 53,348 pilgrims has been entered into Saudi Arabia's Nusuk system, but information for another 13,000 pilgrims remains unprocessed. The association has already paid 680 million Saudi riyals for pilgrim arrangements, he said. HOAP officials pointed to several complicating factors, including confusion over payment deadlines in the Nusuk system, which was closed on February 14 and reopened only briefly from February 20-22. The association blamed Ministry of Religious Affairs for discrepancies in the application timeline, noting that while government scheme applications were accepted from November 28 to March 25, private operators were only allowed to begin processing applications from January 14, 2025. Further complications arose from Saudi Arabia's unexpected increase in the minimum pilgrim cluster size from 500 to 2,000 this year, which required additional time for regulatory compliance through the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Saeed said. 'Despite the increase in cluster size from 500 to 2,000 and HOAP's repeated requests, the government has not permitted us to remit more than $300,000, which was previously allowed for just 500 pilgrims cluster,' Zaeem explained. HOAP acknowledged Prime Minister Sharif's earlier efforts, which reportedly secured an additional quota of 10,000 pilgrims from Saudi authorities. Pakistan's total Hajj quota stands at 179,210, divided equally between government and private schemes at 89,605 each. The association is now appealing for immediate diplomatic intervention to allow 72 hours permission for the submission of the remaining pilgrim applications through Saudi Arabia's Nusuk system. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
System errors may make 67,000 pilgrims miss Hajj
Almost 67,000 aspiring Pakistani pilgrims are at risk of losing their opportunity to perform Hajj allegedly due to system errors that delayed the processing of Hajj applications and the Saudi online portal closed on its deadline. The Hajj Organisers Association of Pakistan (HOAP) has appealed to the president, prime minister, and army chief to engage with the Saudi government to seek permission for the affected pilgrims. During a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, the Media Coordinator of the HOAP, Muhammad Saeed, requested the government to intervene in order to sort out the issue. He explained that the Saudi digital platform Nusuk was closed for application's submission a month earlier compared to prior year, resulting in issues for those whose visa applications were pending. He requested a 72-hour extension to be granted to them in order to secure visas for the remaining pilgrims. He stated that, Pakistan's total Hajj quota is 179,210, which is divided equally between the public and private sectors (50 per cent each). So far, only 23,000 applications have been confirmed, while 67,000 remain unconfirmed, of which 13,000 applicants have been excluded from the system. He noted that until 2024, extension had been granted in Saudi timeline for submission of applications, but this year, no such extension has been made in the deadline so far. Chairman of the Association, Zaeem Akhtar Siddiqui, added that the Government of Pakistan announced it's Hajj policy on November 27, 2024. Under this policy, the Ministry of Religious Affairs started accepting installment-based applications only for the government Hajj scheme from November 28 to March 25, in multiple phases. He further explained that on January 14, the ministry officially allowed the private sector to start receiving Hajj applications. Partial approvals for private Hajj packages were granted on January 8, and after addressing deficiencies, they were finalised by March 18. However, the Saudi system's deadline was February 21, after which it was closed.
