The Prime Minister’s Office has stated that the government scheme will cost between Rs1,065,000 and Rs1,075,000 per pilgrim.
The federal cabinet, on Monday under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, approved the Hajj Policy 2025, paving the way for 179,210 Pakistani citizens to perform Hajj next year.
The policy, which will divide the Hajj quota equally between government and private schemes, envisions a string of new measures to enhance the pilgrimage experience.
The formal announcement is to be made by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Sources confirmed that the application process will start post-approval, with banks accepting requests from November 25.
The new policy also prohibits children under 12 years of age from performing Hajj and has brought in a computerised ballot system for selecting pilgrims under the government scheme. Furthermore, the cabinet has allocated 1,000 seats for hardship cases and 300 seats for low-income workers registered with the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) or Workers Welfare Fund.
As part of enhanced services, the Road to Makkah facility would be available at Islamabad and Karachi international airports.
Agreements would be signed between Hajj group organisers and the Ministry of Religious Affairs with a promise of proper service standards being followed in their wake. In addition, the new role of a Nazim (administrator) would be provided; every Nazim would be accountable for 100 pilgrims to be selected from the welfare staff.
The policy has also improved the remuneration to heirs of the dead pilgrims by increasing it to Rs 2 million, while a sum of Rs1 million is provided to the injured pilgrims. A Hajj Management App is also devised to help the pilgrims. An overall training program shall be provided.
As stated in previous attempts, the cabinet recommended to give priority to those applicants who were rejected in the voting last year, meaning a commitment to supporting all dimensions of the hajj.
