The new hajj policy is likely to be announced by the last week of March as the draft policy is being given final touches by the ministry of religious affairs and inter-faith harmony.
Official sources in the ministry told APP that the ministry would start receiving hajj applications after getting federal government’s approval. Pakistan’s suspended hajj quota has not yet been restored and 1,43,000 lucky persons will perform hajj this year including 50 per cent each through government and private scheme.
Hajj facilities being offered to Pakistani pilgrims were not only inexpensive but also better as compared to other Islamic countries including Iran, Turkey and Indonesia, the sources said.
According to reports some hajj group organisers (HGOs) have started hajj booking despite the fact that five years quota distribution agreement of the ministry and 740 HGOs had already ended in 2015. The decision about quota distribution to HGOs would be announced in hajj policy.
It is generally alleged that most of the hajj group organisers (HGOs) were earning from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000 profit per haji. The HGOs earn from Rs 3,00,000 to Rs 4,00,000 on VIP hajj. He said the ministry was persistently persuading hajj group organisers (HGOs) to decrease exorbitant private hajj packages. Responding to a question, he said the ministry had constituted a complaint disposal committee (CDC) to promptly dispose of complaints, adding that the ministry had planned strict action against the HGO who had violated the agreement inked with private scheme for the pilgrims.
