ISLAMABAD: Islamabad has formally requested Saudi Arabia to increase its Hajj pilgrims’ quota to 230,000, Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said this week, according to state-run media, as the country hopes more people can perform the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
Pakistan received a quota of 179,210 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2025, evenly divided between the government and private Hajj operators. For this year’s pilgrimage, Islamabad has already concluded the registration process, with state media reporting that the country has received over 450,000 Hajj applications in total.
“He [Yousaf] noted that Pakistan has formally requested the Saudi government to increase the Hajj quota to 230,000, in proportion to the country’s population to allow more people to undertake the pilgrimage,” the state-run Pakistan Television News reported on Sunday.
The minister was on a visit to Darul Uloom Mansehra where he attended a reception in his honor. Yousaf said the increase in the number of people registering for Hajj 2026, over 450,000, reflects that the trust of the public has been restored in Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry.
“Furthermore, the minister said that the Saudi authorities are working on digitizing the Hajj management system, which will ensure easier and more efficient services for pilgrims in the future,” PTV News reported.
A major portion of the private quota for Hajj pilgrims for 2025 remained unutilized due to delays by companies in meeting payment and registration deadlines, while the government filled its full allocation of over 88,000 pilgrims.
Private operators blamed the situation on technical glitches such as payment issues and communication breakdowns.
