The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought reply till August 1 from the Religious Affairs Ministry on a petition filed against halting the process of 135 Haj applications. Justice Sh Azmat Saeed passed the orders on a petition filed by Al-Qadir Haj and Umrah Travels (PVT) LTD and its three directors through Counsel Aleem Baig Chughtai.
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the company had submitted 135 Haj applications to the Haj director Lahore according to the quota allocated by the Religious Affairs Ministry. He said the company had completed the due process including payment of Rs 15 million to Pakistan International Airlines for air tickets and Rs 3.5 million to the Religious Affairs Ministry for other expenses. However, one of the company’s directors moved a frivolous application to the ministry whereupon it stopped processing the Haj applications submitted by the company, he added.
The counsel requested the court to issue directives to the ministry to process the applications of Al-Qadir Haj and Umrah Travels.
After hearing the arguments, the court directed Deputy Attorney General Aazar Latif to file a reply by August 1 after consultation with the Religious Affairs Ministry.
