Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Dr Zulfiqar Haider has suggested that the government plans to stop dealing with Hajj arrangements.
He indicated that starting next year (2026), the entire Hajj program can be allocated to private operators, as reported by Express News.
Dr Haider made these comments during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, chaired by Senator Maulana Atta-ur-Rehman on Tuesday.
He revealed that, on directives from Saudi Arabia, the number of companies operating for Hajj was reduced from 500 to 162 last year. He added that the ministry intended to stop managing Hajj arrangements in the future.
The secretary further mentioned that next year all Hajj operations could be carried out by private operators. However, he warned that private Hajj operators must withdraw their cases from the courts, or their fees will be revoked. Initially, 904 private companies were registered for Hajj operations.
He also commented that Saudi Arabia had expressed concern about the large number of companies involved. As a result, the number of companies was reduced to 46, and each company received a quota of 2,000 pilgrims. Private Hajj operators expressed that they had received 80 complaints related to private Hajj services, while 18,000 complaints were reported about the government-run Hajj scheme.
In response, the additional secretary explained that the Saudi authorities were not willing to deal with such a large number of companies and had ordered the reduction. Private Hajj operators also approached the Sindh High Court, and the court sought the minutes of the meeting, which may affect the dues of private operators. If the issue is delayed, Saudi Arabia could cancel the private quota entirely.
The committee discussed resolving the issue of complaints from private Hajj operators. Minority member Dr Dinesh Kumar suggested possible solutions to address the differences between the Hajj operators and the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Committee chairman Maulana Ataur Rahman humorously remarked that Dr Dinesh Kumar seemed to have made four Hajj pilgrimages based on his arguments, which lightened the mood in the committee. Dr Kumar responded that he had detailed knowledge of Hajj and had earlier cited Quranic verses in the Senate against interest-based transactions.
The Secretary also highlighted that if private Hajj operators did not withdraw their cases, their dues could be canceled and potentially handed over to India or Afghanistan. If Saudi Arabia were to revoke the quota, Pakistan would not object.
The Senate committee urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs and private Hajj operators to work together to resolve the issue of the number of companies. The Secretary clarified that the ministry could not go against Saudi Arabia’s policy as a formal agreement had been reached.
The Secretary stressed that the reduction in the number of private companies was due to the agreement with Saudi Arabia and that the federal Cabinet had approved this decision. Because of this agreement, the federal government cannot review the Hajj policy.
Private Hajj operators mentioned that they had already sent advance payments to Saudi Arabia for Hajj arrangements. The committee clarified that without a formal agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, private operators would not receive the Hajj fee and any advance payment sent to Saudi Arabia could be wasted.
The committee ordered private Hajj operators to finalize their agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs as soon as possible. The Secretary stated that sending money to Saudi Arabia without an agreement with the Ministry was an illegal action.
Maulana Ataur Rahman reiterated that if the suspension order was not lifted, the quota would be forfeited, thereby significantly damaging the country’s reputation.
