Balloting for Govt Hajj Scheme on March 11: Ministry spokesman

ISLAMABAD: Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs has extended the date of receiving Hajj applications under the government scheme by three days and balloting will be held on March 11 , ARY News reported on Wednesday.

A spokesman of the Ministry has said that due to prevailing situation in the country the deadline of receiving the Hajj applications for government scheme has been extended till March 09 (Saturday).

The balloting of the Hajj scheme will be held on March 11 (Monday).

According to the ministry it has received 174,821 applications for the Hajj scheme till Tuesday evening.

The applicants at some parts of the country were facing difficulties due to rough weather conditions such as snowfall, rainfall and flash floods.

According to a spokesman of the ministry, several branches of 14 designated Banks have been assigned to receive hajj applications from the aspiring pilgrims. The banks would continue receiving applications till March 9 while balloting to choose 107,526 successful pilgrims would be held on March 11.

The process of receiving Hajj applications under the government scheme was started on February 25.

The spokesman said that as many as 200,000 people from Pakistan would perform Hajj this year, 60 percent of which under the government scheme, while the rest under the private tour operators.

The particulars of the applicants have been uploaded on official website of the ministry. The applicants were also being informed about receipt of their applications through short messaging services (SMS) on their mobile phones, the spokesman said.

The ministry’s spokesman advised the applicants to check their particulars on the website and correct the mistakes if any.