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Intending pilgrims who deposited dues to be sent on Hajj

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ISLAMABAD: Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Tuesday said all the intending pilgrims who have deposited their dues would be sent to Hajj this year and the quota of Hajj Group Organisers (HGO) has been slashed due to their failure in booking the required number of pilgrims.

Speaking to media persons, he said the ministry had already completed the entire booking process of government scheme while the HGOs had failed to book the required number of intending pilgrims as per their allocated quota.

Soon after receiving intimation of 20 percent Hajj quota cut from the Saudi government, the HGOs had been asked to submit details of their bookings by June 10 so that a policy of cutting the ratio of government and private scheme could be finalised.

The deadline was extended to enable the HGOs to submit the details of their Hajj bookings.

By June 18, the HGOs had booked only 21,000 intending pilgrims and by Tuesday, they had booked 43,749 intending pilgrims. The Saudi government has fixed July 8 as last date for submitting the total number of intending pilgrims.

The tour operators have booked 43,000 pilgrims while they had been given the quota of up to 57,000. The HGOs have failed to book the pilgrims as per required quota.

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