LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the Hajj policy 2019.
It is pertinent to note that the federal government had withdrawn a subsidy on the pilgrimage on January 30, increasing the expenses by Rs176,000 for each pilgrim.
According to details, the high court rejected the petition after declaring it non-maintainable. The government says that those who have resources can perform Hajj as there will be no subsidy and the court cannot interfere in a policy decision which has been taken by the government in accordance with the constitution, the LHC bench remarked.
The petition had said that the government has increased the amount of the government Hajj scheme for a person from Rs2,80,000 to Rs4,56,000.
“The government has withdrawn the subsidy offered to the pilgrims and made the pilgrimage 65 pc expensive,” the petition had stated. The petitioner had alleged that the Hajj expenses had been increased to illegally earn profits from the scheme.
Under the new Hajj Policy, more than 184,000 Pakistanis will perform the annual ritual of Hajj this year, with 60pc quota of pilgrims reserved for the government-sponsored Hajj scheme and remaining 40pc for the pilgrims who will travel through private Hajj tour operators.
