Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday told the Saudi authorities to facilitate around 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims whose participation in Hajj 2025 is in danger due to delays in the completion of agreements and payments.
By chairing a high level meeting on the subject on Friday, the prime minister expressed a deep concern for the crisis and ordered the authorities to make all possible efforts to guarantee the trip of pilgrims to the sacred sites.
He assured the present delegation that he would personally raise the matter with the Saudi officials to obtain the approval of the affected pilgrims under the private quota.
“This is a matter of shame for us,” he said, asking for a quick and decisive action. “We must do everything in our power to solve this problem and avoid denying thousands of people the opportunity to fulfill a sacred obligation,” he added.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister of Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, members of the Senate Permanent Committee on Religious Affairs and Representatives of the Association of Organizers of Pakistan (HOAP) of Hajj.
The delegation informed the prime minister about the crisis and requested his intervention to ensure the necessary approvals for pilgrims.
Previously, the Secretary of Religious Affairs, Dr. Attaur Rehman, told the Senate that the fate of the 67,000 pilgrims was no longer in the hands of the Government, citing new policy changes introduced by Saudi Arabia.
According to the secretary, Riad has now ordered that only the organizers of the Hajj group with fees of 2,000 or more will be able to operate. As a result, 904 existing organizers have merged into 45 larger Hajj companies.
The policy change has complicated preparations and has caused delays in payments and administrative coordination, leaving thousands of pilgrims at risk of not being able to perform Hajj in 2025.
