Pakistan’s Secretary of Religious Affairs has shared information about this year’s Hajj expenses under the government scheme during a recent meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, as reported by News.
The meeting, led by Committee Chairman Aamir Dogar, concentrated on enhancing Hajj arrangements, with private Hajj operators falling under the ministry’s oversight.
The Secretary of Religious Affairs highlighted efforts to cap Hajj expenses at Rs1.1 million. The government scheme has a quota for 5,000 pilgrims, with additional applications anticipated in the near future.
For accommodations in Mina, each pilgrim will be assigned a numbered mattress. Last year, 764 complaints were lodged against 218 private Hajj operators.
Private Hajj operators shared their perspectives during the meeting, underscoring their two decades of experience in Hajj operations. They also called for long-term agreements with Saudi authorities to help reduce costs.
The ministry assured that it is actively working to lower package costs offered by private operators. Although Saudi officials proposed increasing the quota for each operator to 3,000 pilgrims, this plan has been deferred for the year. In the future, quotas may increase to between 2,500 and 3,000 pilgrims.
Looking ahead, the ministry aims to introduce policies that could gradually eliminate the quota system in alignment with Saudi regulations.
While ensuring businesses are not shut down, the ministry is focused on preventing the exploitation of pilgrims. It noted that private operators have previously inflated Hajj package prices by trading quotas among themselves.
