Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Secretary provided details on Hajj expenditure under the government’s plan for this year during a recent meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, Express News reported.
The meeting, chaired by Committee Chairman Aamir Dogar, focused on improvements in Hajj arrangements, with private Hajj companies being part of the ministry’s supervision.
The Secretary of Religious Affairs stated that efforts are being made to keep Hajj expenses below Rs 1.1 million.
There is a quota of 5,000 pilgrims under the government plan, and additional applications are expected in the coming days.
In Mecca, each Mina mattress will be assigned a specific number for pilgrims. Last year, 764 complaints were received against 218 private Hajj companies.
During the meeting, private Hajj operators also presented their views. They stressed that they have been involved in Hajj operations for more than 20 years and discussed the need for long-term contracts with Saudi authorities to reduce costs.
The ministry assured that they were working to reduce the packages offered by private operators. The ministry also revealed that while Saudi officials had suggested increasing each operator’s quota to 3,000 pilgrims, they have currently paused this proposal for the year. In the future, the quota may increase to between 2,500 and 3,000.
The ministry also plans to implement a policy to potentially phase out the quota system in the coming years, aligning with the policies of the Saudi authorities.
The ministry’s goal is not to close any businesses but to prevent exploitation of pilgrims, as private operators are known to sell Hajj packages between different companies, often at inflated prices.
