Islamabad: Saudi Arabia restored Pakistan’s pre-coronavirus Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and abolished the upper age limit of 65 years to perform the annual pilgrimage, Pakistan’s religion ministry confirmed on Monday.
The Hajj is a spiritual journey that every Muslim adult must undertake once in his lifetime, to the holy sites in Makkah and Madinah, if he is financially and physically able to do so. It is one of the important five pillars of the Islamic faith.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Hajj was restricted to just 1,000 local residents. In 2021, the kingdom limited the annual pilgrimage to 60,000 domestic participants only, compared with the pre-coronavirus pandemic figure of 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world.
Last year, the kingdom granted Pakistan a quota of 81,132 pilgrims. Other restrictions imposed on pilgrims from around the world to perform the Hajj included an upper age limit of 65. Pilgrims were also required to be vaccinated with vaccinations approved by the Saudi health authorities.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Mufti Abdul Shakoor, arrived in Jeddah on Monday to attend the annual Hajj Conference.
“The religious affairs minister received the draft of the annual Hajj agreement according to which Pakistan’s old quota of 179,210 and the age limit of 65 years has been abolished as well,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.
Pakistan’s religion ministry said Shakoor requested the kingdom’s Hajj authorities to lessen the cost of the pilgrimage so that Pakistani pilgrims who aspire to undertake the journey could do so with ease. “The Saudi minister for Hajj and Umrah assured [Pakistan] of positive efforts in this regard,” the ministry said.
