Hajj applications to be accepted from April 17, total of 107526 pilgrims will select under government Hajj scheme minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf e;
By.Asghar Ali Mubarak
Islamabad-The minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf has said that Hajj application will be accepted through branches of ten specific banks which include Habib Bank Limited, United Bank Limited, National Bank Of Pakistan, MCB Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, Bank Alfalah, Meezan Bank, Bank of Punjab and Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited from 17th to 26th of this month. Addressing a press briefing about the Hajj policy 2017 which is approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, he said that a total of 107526 intending pilgrims will be selected under government Hajj scheme while 71684 will be selected though private hajj scheme. The Minister said that balloting will be conducted on 28th of this month. He said the hajj applications will be received through branches of ten specific banks .The Minister said on direction of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif it has been tried to give each and every facility to the pilgrims. He said that Hajj package 2017 for North region is 2,80,000 rupees and 2,70,000 rupees for South region. He said the ministry is making endeavor to provide new model buses to the pilgrims for travelling from Jeddah to Makkah.He said supervision of hajj operation will be strengthened and complains of the pilgrims will be addressed instantly. The Minister said that an emergency plan is being prepared by the ministry to tackle any emergency situation. He said keeping in view number of the pilgrims, 540 personnel of hajj medical mission, 450 personnel of assistants pilgrims hajj, 270 personnel of seasonal staff of the ministry and welfare staff comprised of Pakistani local assistants will be deployed as per requirement. He said for further information websites of the ministry such as http://www.hajjinfo.org and http://www.mora.gov.pk can be accessed and hajj inquiry number 051-9205696 can also be contacted. Earlier the federal cabinet approved the Hajj Policy 2017 that would allow around 179,210 applicants to perform Hajj this year after an agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia for enhanced quota. In the past, Pakistan’s Hajj quota was fixed at 143,368 applicants. The quota was reduced in 2013 due to expansion work in the Grand Mosque.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who chaired the cabinet meeting, expressed reservations over [high] Haj expenses and directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to revise the rates and present a summary in this regard in the next cabinet meeting.
The prime minister also directed the religious affairs ministry to provide maximum facilities to hujjaj, and added that their comfort should not be compromised.According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the total Hajj package for people travelling from the northern region will be Rs280, 000 and for people travelling from the southern region, such as Karachi, Quetta and Sukkur, will be Rs270,000.This year Hajj expenses will be costlier by Rs10,000 when compared with last year. However, the prime minister has directed the ministry to charge the same amount as last year from people. The Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, while announcing the policy at a news conference, said in 2017, 179,210 pilgrims will offer Hajj and out of them 60%, or 107,526 pilgrims, will avail the government-sponsered Haj scheme/government quota. The rest of 40%, or 71,684, would go through private scheme, he added. In addition, 2% of total seats under the government scheme would be reserved for hardship cases. The quota has been reserved for broken families, newly born infants whose parents are going for Hajj and intend to carry their children with them.Hardship quota is allocated on equitable basis to applicants belonging to far-off/rural areas including Gilgit-Baltistan, Baluchistan, etc.“The Ministry of Religious Affairs starts accepting Hajj applications from April 17 and the process will continue till April 26 through 10 specific leading commercial banks of the country.“The draw will be held on April 28,” he announced. The people, who have Machine Readable Pakistani Passport and CNIC valid up to March1, 2018 can apply, he said. According to the Hajj Policy, after the announcement of successful pilgrims, all those declared unsuccessful may withdraw their dues from respective bank branch immediately. Under the government scheme, applicants who have performed Hajj during the last seven years will not be eligible to apply this year. Similarly for private schemes, those who performed Hajj during the last five years will not be eligible. This restriction will not apply to ‘Mehram’. However, Hajj-i-Badal can only be performed through the private scheme, the minister said. The ban on performing free Haj remains intact, he said. Moreover under the government scheme, shared accommodation will be provided or arranged in accordance with Saudi laws and Housing Permits (Tasreeh and Tasneef) along with boarding and lodging services. While sharing details of the facilities that will be provided to pilgrims going through the government scheme, the minister said modern/air-conditioned buses will be provided to transport pilgrims from the airport to their residences.Just to avoid any untoward situation, fireproof tents at Arafat will be provided to them.” Meanwhile, a provision of 100% accommodation in markazia in Madina will be ensured. Moreover, their luggage would be directly transported to the place where they would be staying right after going through the immigration procedure. “The provision of best quality cooked meals will be provided three times a day in Mashair (Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah). They will be provided filtered water and effective cooling systems in each maktab in Mina.
