ISLAMABAD: The Rafiq-e-Hujjaj Committee on Sunday demanded the continuation of subsidy and revival of sponsorship scheme for the government scheme Hujjaj.
Talking to APP, Rafiq-e-Hujjaj Committee President Babu Imran Qureshi lauded retaining 60:40 per cent Hajj quota for government scheme and private scheme Hujjaj respectively.
Urging religious ministry to keep Hajj expenditures at a minimum possible level to enable middle-class people to perform the sacred religious ceremony, Babu Imran said that Hajj expenditures will be increased due to increase in dollar rate and overall inflation.
He said that government scheme Hujjaj should be provided with a subsidy to enable maximum aspirants to perform the sacred religious ceremony. He said that the revival of Hajj sponsorship scheme would attract foreign currency, besides benefiting country’s economy and minimising ministry’s woes. The aspirants of the sponsorship scheme should be exempted from Hajj balloting.
He suggested the immediate purchasing of a sufficient number of Riyals from pilgrim funds to avoid impacts of a further increase in Rupee-Riyal parity ratio.