Govt fails in timely disbursement of Hajj subsidy to pilgrims

ISLAMABAD: Hajj pilgrims have faced financial troubles due to hefty Hajj packages as the coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) parties failed to provide subsidies, ARY News reported on Sunday.

Pakistani pilgrims faced trouble in Saudi Arabia for not getting a Hajj subsidy as they did not receive any subsidy so far.

The prime minister had approved a Rs150,000 subsidy out of the total Hajj expenditures worth Rs900,000 and the government was bound to return Rs150,000 each to 32,000 pilgrims registered under the government scheme.

The government had announced the provision of Hajj subsidy worth Rs4.8 billion which was not disbursed yet. The pilgrims would get relief in case of its timely disbursement during Hajj.

Government sources said that the subsidy amount will be transferred to the bank accounts of pilgrims after they returned to the country after completing Hajj.