Govt receives meagre 2,800 Haj 2024 applications in sponsorship scheme

Muslim pilgrims gather around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah early on June 28, 2023. — AFP

Despite allocating 25,000 seats for Haj 2024 in the sponsorship scheme, the government has so far received a mere 2,800 applications in the said category as the December 22 application submission deadline closes in.

The government, to attract valuable foreign exchange amid depleting reserves, has announced that those paying their dues in dollars from abroad will be exempted from ballotting and will be declared as "winners" without the need for ballotting.

Geo News reported that after assessing the dire situation amid a low application count in the sponsorship scheme — coupled with 58,000 applications received under the regular scheme — the Ministry of Religious Affairs has written to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis to enlighten Pakistanis living abroad about the Haj application filing process.

Furthermore, the ministry — after approaching interior and foreign ministries — has also decided to seek the assistance of the Ministry of Information in this regard.

The development comes as the government extended the Hajj application deadline by 10 days from December 12 to 22 earlier this week.

The applications can be submitted on a passport valid till December 16, 2024, and the Haj application can also be processed on a passport application token.

Around 89,605 Pakistanis are expected to perform Haj under the government scheme which will cost around Rs1,075,000 — Rs100,000 less than that of the previous year.

Furthermore, the government has also introduced both long and short-term packages spanning over 38 to 42 and 20 to 25 days, respectively.

Meanwhile, women, for the first time in history, will have the opportunity to undertake the sacred journey without the traditional requirement of a male companion.

Furthermore, the government would provide free-of-cost mobile SIMs with roaming internet packages to the Pakistani pilgrims.

It is pertinent to know that Pakistan has secured 179,000 Haj seats, with half reserved for private Haj operators.