ISLAMABAD: Against the Pakistan government's regular scheme quota of 44,190, 72,869 Pakistanis have applied for this year’s Hajj, finance minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday, adding that there would be no balloting this year and all applicants would be considered.
Last week, the Pakistani ministry of religious affairs said it was extending the application deadline until April 9 for the ‘Sponsorship Hajj Scheme,’ a new scheme introduced this year in which overseas Pakistanis can apply for Hajj or sponsor someone in Pakistan to make the pilgrimage. The receipt of applications in the regular Hajj scheme was also extended till April 2.
“72869 applications have been submitted for the current Hajj,” Dar said in a statement. “About 37,000 more applications than the [government] quota have been received.”
“No balloting this year. All intended applicants are considered for performing Haj this year,” the finance ministry tweeted.
Last year, Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah, allowed back foreign travelers to perform the Hajj. Only a few thousand Saudi citizens and residents attended the annual pilgrimage in 2020 and 2021 as COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the global economy and curtailed travel.
Around one million people joined the 2022 Hajj season, some 81,132 of them from Pakistan.
The one million figure was less than half of pre-pandemic levels, with access restricted to pilgrims aged 18 to 65 who were fully vaccinated or immunized against the virus and did not suffer from chronic diseases.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia announced it had restored Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and removed the upper age limit of 65.
