Over 80,000 Pakistanis to perform Hajj this year

Islamabad: Saudi Arabia has allocated a quota of 81,132 pilgrims to Pakistan, who will be able to perform the annual Haj ritual in 2022, state media said.

Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah has approved the second-highest number of pilgrims quota for Pakistan. Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, will send the highest number of Haj pilgrims (100,051) followed by Pakistan (81,132), India (79,237 pilgrims) and Bangladesh (57,585).

Saudi Arabia raised the number of Haj pilgrims from inside and outside the kingdom to one million in 2022 after two years of restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the confirmation from the Saudi ministry, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said it would initiate the Haj application process in the next few days through designated branches of specific banks. “Haj expenses, age limit, vaccines and other terms and conditions will be announced soon through Haj Policy 2022.”

The applications submitted by individuals and groups would be decided through balloting while the distribution between public and private Haj schemes would be 60-40 with 60 per cent under the government quota and 40 per cent under the private tour operators’ quota.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has issued a public alert urging aspiring pilgrims not to spend their hard-earned money on any private tour operator until the Haj Policy 2022 is officially announced. The ministry’s spokesman Umar Butt also warned the citizens to be alert to fraud campaigns and fake Haj bookings and asked them to report it to the authorities concerned to initiate legal proceedings against them.

Saudi Arabia has announced the following regulations for Haj 2022:

1. Those under 65 years old could perform Haj provided they have received Covid-19 vaccinations approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health.

2. Pilgrims from abroad will be required to submit a negative Covid-19 PCR test result performed within 72 hours of the time of departure to the KSA.