ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MRA) has postponed the dates for receiving Hajj applications citing technical issues at its end, officials told Arab News on Saturday.
The ministry had directed 13 banks and their designated branches to start processing the applications from Monday.
“All the arrangements for Hajj 2020 have been completed and are in place. There are few technical issues due to which banks have been barred from receiving Hajj applications till further order,” Imran Siddiqui, MRA spokesperson, told Arab News in Islamabad, adding that the new dates would be announced soon.
In a circular issued on Friday, the MRA announced the suspension of a directive from February 17 which had asked the banks to process the applications from February 24 to March 4.
Earlier this month, Siddiqui had told Arab News that 179,210 Pakistani pilgrims are set to perform Hajj this year, out of which nearly 107,000 will be facilitated through a government scheme.
“The Hajj 2020 package, through the government scheme, would cost Rs 490,000 for pilgrims from the northern regions and Rs 480,000 for those from the southern regions of the country,” he said.
According to official statistics provided by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan topped the list of countries with more than 2.1 million Umrah pilgrims last year, while it remained at the second spot for those performing Hajj.
