ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will begin its Hajj 2024 training workshops from today, Monday, the country’s religion ministry said this week, as the South Asian country gears up for the upcoming annual Islamic pilgrimage. 

Hajj workshops are educational training sessions designed by the government to educate pilgrims about the rituals and procedures of performing the pilgrimage. The annual Islamic pilgrimage is among one of the five pillars of Islam. It involves performing specific acts of worship at the holy sites in Makkah and is binding on every Muslim adult, provided they are sane of mind and physically and financially able to undertake the journey. 

“Hajj training workshops will be held from Monday, February 12,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the training would be provided in two phases across the country. It said attendance for Hajj pilgrims is mandatory for the program, in which “special attention” has been focused on administrative issues along with the rituals of Hajj in the new curriculum. 

The ministry said its training programs would be conducted at the district level through seven camps managed by the religious affairs ministry. 

“The first phase of training will end before Ramadan, while the second phase will begin after Ramadan and the series of training workshops will continue in Hajj camps until the departure of the last Hajj flight,” it said. 

Saudi Arabia has restored Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and abolished the upper age limit of 65 years to perform the Islamic pilgrimage. More than 81,000 Pakistani pilgrims performed Hajj under the government scheme in 2023 while the rest used private tour operators.

Pakistan announced the results of a draw for Hajj 2024 in December 2023, with more than 63,000 applicants selected for the pilgrimage under the government scheme. Those remaining will be applying for the pilgrimage through private tour operators.