ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government will return Rs97,000 ($333) in excess fee to each pilgrim who performed this year’s Hajj under the official scheme, Pakistani Religious Affairs Minister Talha Mahmood announced Thursday.
Saudi Arabia this year reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65 in January. More than 81,000 Pakistani pilgrims performed the pilgrimage under the government scheme this year, while the rest were facilitated by private tour operators.
Speaking at a press briefing, Mahmood said the country’s Hajj operation had successfully concluded, announcing that his government would return a total of Rs16 billion to Hajj pilgrims on account of certain services and preferable accommodation they did not receive during the pilgrimage.
“A total of 16 billion rupees will be returned to the Pakistani Hajj pilgrims. Out of this almost over four billion was already returned and around Rs12 billion will be returned to all pilgrims under government scheme from next week,” the minister said.
“All pilgrims will start receiving Rs97,000 rupees each and while those who stayed outside the central Madinah will receive additional Rs14,000 moreover those who didn’t receive train service will also get a refund of Rs21,000. Before this, Rs55,000 per pilgrim have already been refunded.”
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage includes series of rites completed over four days in Makkah and its surroundings in the west of Saudi Arabia.
This year, the annual pilgrimage began on June 26 and a special flight operation to bring back Pakistani pilgrims is still underway and will conclude on August 2.
Mahmood said his ministry intended to further reduce the Hajj expenses for Pakistani pilgrims.
“The effort was made to make Hajj more affordable, and due to the decrease in the value of the dollar, the previous cost of Hajj, which was $5,000 per pilgrim, has now been reduced to $3,500 this year,” he said
“If all arrangements are completed in advance next year, Hajj can be made even more affordable.”
Pakistan was already making preparations for next year’s Hajj pilgrimage and exploring “cost-effective” travel options by land and sea, Mahmood said a day earlier, adding that receiving next year’s Hajj quota in advance from Saudi Arabia was allowing the South Asian nation to plan a “more affordable” Hajj.
“Fortunately, we already know our quota for next year, allowing us for advanced preparations and more cost-effective travel options, such as traveling by ship or road, which will make Hajj more affordable for pilgrims,” Mahmood said at a seminar in Islamabad.
